Touch of Death
by IdiotWithaBoxandaScrewdriver
Summary: The Asakuras take in a young woman with a strange and dark ability. While Yoh battles his feelings on his 'destiny' to oppose Hao, his mother begins to suspect there's more to her new friend than meets the eye.
1. Chapter 1

Star: Wow, this story idea came out of nowhere and just dropkicked me in the head, I had to write it down. A bit different from my usual, which I hope you'll like. Anyways, I don't own anything but the plot and my brand new OC!

Keiko Asakura hated being left alone. Her son, her husband and her parents were all at the Shaman King tournament, though only Yoh and Mikihisa were competing. Her father had flat out ordered her to stay home, and there was just no arguing with him when he was in one of those moods.

She understood, she really did, why they wanted her to stay back. It was dangerous there, and she was neither trained for fighting, or an itako, so she wasn't much use. Add to that one scary powerful, supposedly evil thousand year ancestor and the rest of the family felt it was safer for her to remain in Japan. After all, someone had to carry on the main branch of the Asakura family if they all were killed by Hao.

So, she understood, but she just didn't like it. She was lonely, and that was why she had decided to move from Izumo to Tokyo, taking up residence in the En inn, to combat her loneliness. There wasn't anyone else there, but she was in the city at least, unlike Izumo, which was out on its own with very few neighbours.

She'd enjoyed the sights for a couple weeks, going out and mingling, seeing plays and whatnot, but she began to get bored as well, with barely anything to do. She did have a job, but she didn't have anything to do in her spare time. Then one of her coworkers mentioned her volunteer projects, and Keiko had gotten an idea.

She enrolled as a volunteer at a local shelter geared towards homeless young people. In particular she volunteered as a supervisor and mentor in the art program they had where homeless kids could come in and work on art without having to pay for supplies or classes. She showed up for volunteering her first day, wondering what it would be like.

"Hello there." A harried looking, middle-aged woman with grey-streaked strawberry blonde hair sighed. "You must be the new girl. Welcome to Art Saves." Keiko bowed slightly, smiling. "Now sometimes the kids will want to open up, sometimes they don't. Just help them if they look like they need it."

Keiko nodded her head, scanning the room. There were three kids working on art in there, two of them already talking with volunteers. The last one sat alone in a corner, hunched over her piece of paper, sketching with a piece of charcoal. The other volunteer followed her gaze.

"That one comes in once a week and draws. She doesn't say anything, she won't talk to councillors." She said. "Her drawings are disturbed and an obvious cry for help, but we can't get her to open up. I think she steals art supplies from us too."

There was a slight condescending tone in the woman's voice that Keiko didn't like. She gazed at the young woman sketching away and then went over quietly. She sat down at the table, opposite the girl, watching her silently.

She seemed tall, though it was hard to tell sitting down. Her hair was black and cut in a Mohawk style that was teased forward in soft, slightly curly layers, aching over her forehead. She had cafe au lait skin, what little Keiko could see of it anyways. She was wearing a bulky black leather jacket that was zipped shut and black leather gloves on her hands. Her full, chapped lips moved silently as she worked, as though she were silently mouthing the words to a song. A series of four piercings marched up the lobe and helix of each ear, sparkling silver at her.

Keiko then took a look at what she was drawing; a young woman, naked, on her hands and knees, looking towards the viewer of the picture with an angry, agonized expression. Broken, bloody wings extended from her back, and trails of blood, like tears, trickled from the young woman's eyes. Keiko realized, seeing the Mohawk the figure had, that it was the artist drawing herself.

"Your drawing is beautiful." Keiko said softly. The soft scratching of the charcoal on the paper paused for a moment, but the young woman didn't look up. "It's painful though too, soulwrenching." Keiko paused, searching for the right words. "Jolie laide, that's what it is. It means-"

"I know what it means." Keiko was startled by the voice that emanated from the girl's mouth. It was deeper than most woman's and had a husky quality that turned it into more of a growl. It took Keiko a moment to realize that the tone was gentle, and that the rough voice was not angry in any way. The girl looked up and Keiko stared into eyes of a dark, molten gold that was somehow alien in a way. "Nobody's called my art beautiful here. They call it... disturbed." The girl said, sneaking a glance over her shoulder at the other volunteer.

"I don't think it, and by association you, are disturbed." Keiko replied gently.

"Oh? And what do you think of me?" The girl asked, raising an eyebrow. Keiko looked at her for a moment. She had quite a pretty face, with high, aristocratic cheekbones, but it was careworn, cheeks hollowed and eyes sunken with dark circles around them. This was a girl who had seen some hard times.

"I think that you have some demons." Keiko said slowly. "But everyone has demons, and everyone has different ways of dealing with them. Do you know of Stephen King?"

"I am acquainted with Mr. King's work." The girl said. She was obviously an intelligent girl and Keiko had to wonder how she wound up on the streets.

"Some people might read his work and call him disturbed, but I just think that writing is his way of coping with the darkness inside him. Drawing is yours, and it keeps you sane." Keiko explained. The golden eyes didn't leave her face as she spoke and she got the disconcerting feeling that the girl was staring into her soul.

Suddenly a smile cracked the hard expression on the girl's face. "My name is Tari. It's nice to finally meet a volunteer that's not a complete boob."

"They mean well. I'm Keiko Asakura." Keiko replied. "Tari, that's a pretty name, but strange." Tari gave a soft, throaty laugh.

"It's short for Nefertari." She explained. She looked down at her charcoal drawing. "You really think it's beautiful?"

"Yes, I wouldn't lie about that." Keiko said firmly. Tari's lips pursed and she frowned at her paper for a long moment. She then sketched out a small ankh in the corner of the picture and slid it over to Keiko. "What?" Keiko said.

"Keep it. It'll just gather dust with me, at least with you it can be appreciated." Tari calmly explained. She stood up, slipping the charcoal pencil in her pocket as she did so. She walked away towards the door and Keiko saw the other volunteer move to intercept her. Tari favoured her with a cold, dead stare and the volunteer backed off.

The volunteer gave her a wide-eyed look when Tari had gone. Keiko merely shrugged, sincerely doubting the rest of her day would be as interesting as that was.

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Star: What do you think?


	2. Chapter 2

Wolf: I own nothing!

Keiko scanned the art room, deflating when she realized that Tari had not shown up, again. It had been a week since their first meeting, and Keiko was burning with curiosity. She sighed softly, both in disappointment and annoyance at herself; getting all worked up like that.

"Looking for someone?" A quiet, husky voice not unlike a growl said in her ear. Keiko yelped and whirled. She had to look up to meet Tari's eyes, who smiled slightly, if a little tiredly, down at her.

"Wow, how tall are you?" Keiko asked.

"Over six feet." Tari shrugged. "Haven't seen a doctor in a good number of years so I couldn't tell you exactly." She licked at her chapped lips. Keiko stared for a moment, remembering when Yoh was little and she would put lip chap on for him in the winter. A part of her, always the mother, wanted to do the same for Tari.

Apparently something showed on her face because Tari stepped back, her almond-shaped eyes watching her warily. Keiko smiled. "Sorry, I was just thinking about my son."

"You've got a kid?" Keiko nodded. "How old is he?"

"Almost sixteen now." Keiko sighed wistfully. She wondered if Yoh would be home in time for his birthday.

"That's about the same age I would up on the streets." Tari said thoughtfully. She carefully brushed around Keiko, heading for the art supplies. She took out a couple of pencils and a piece of paper and then sat down. Keiko hesitated a moment and then went to sit down beside her. Tari was already drawing, hunched over the page, when she got there.

"That must have been an anticlimactic sweet sixteen, living on the streets." She commented. Tari only shrugged.

"Was better than some birthdays." She muttered. She was sketching out a young woman, lying curled up, looking as though she were sleeping peacefully.

"How long have you been on the streets since then?" Keiko asked.

"More than two years." Tari answered shortly.

"Why?" Keiko blurted out before she could stop herself. She watched Tari's shoulders hunch further and her posture go stiff.

"That's my business." Tari growled. Keiko heard the anger in her voice, but there seemed to be an undercurrent of pain in it too. She silently watched as Tari sketched a bubble around the sleeping girl in her picture.

"Is it hard, on the streets?" Keiko asked. Tari's eyes flicked over to her and a faint smirk curled up the corner of her mouth.

"You ask a lot of questions. You sure you're not with Social Services?"

"No, but my husband says I'm too curious for my own good." Keiko said with a smile. She was rewarded with a low, husky chuckle.

"Well, it's no picnic being on the streets, but if you figure out where to get food, and how to avoid the gangs, you can survive." Tari stated calmly. "Helps to look intimidating too, that's the reason for the Mohawk."

"And the leather?" Keiko asked, noticing that Tari still wore her leather gloves even as she was drawing.

"No, I just like leather." Tari replied. She yawned widely.

"I think you're wishing to sleep like the woman in your picture is doing." Keiko observed. A dark, brooding background with burning buildings, fearsome shadows and embers and ashes trailing down from the sky was taking shape beneath Tari's hands.

"I wish I could sleep forever, let the world pass me by and never have to worry about a thing again." Tari murmured.

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." Keiko intoned.

"Albus Dumbledore." Tari said, raising her head and smiling slightly at Keiko. "Didn't figure you for a Harry Potter fan."

"And I would not have thought you would be a bookworm." Keiko replied.

"Fair enough." Tari said, turning back to her picture. "Reading's another way of escaping, just like dreams. Most of the time, before I wound up on the streets, I was either sleeping or reading."

"Why not after?" Keiko asked.

"Most of my time was spent trying to survive." Tari replied. "Plus it's not like books just wind up in trash cans randomly."

"You could go to the library." Keiko pointed out.

"Yeah, I can only stay in there so long before they become suspicious, and a library card needs a home address." Tari murmured. She yawned again.

"You're not getting much sleep." Keiko said, reaching out towards her without thinking. Tari reacted immediately, moving back and simultaneously grabbing Keiko's hand before she could touch her. Keiko flinched, feeling the strength in her grip. Tari stared at her, eyes betraying a mixture of anger and fear. After a long tense moment, Keiko's hand was released and Tari scooted out of her reach.

"I'm sorry." Keiko whispered.

"I really don't like being touched." Tari said in a toneless voice.

"I'm sorry." Keiko repeated. "I won't do it again, I promise." Tari gave her a wry look.

"You sound like a little kid that's done something bad." She said drily. Keiko smiled and chuckled slightly. "You're right about me not getting much sleep though. Unfortunately the place where I've been sleeping has been involved in a turf war between a couple of gangs for the last couple of nights, so between listening to fighting and staying alert enough to make sure no one caught me by surprise, well, you can imagine."

"Should you be sleeping there if there are gangs around?" Keiko asked worriedly.

"There's going to be something anywhere I go." Tari said in a philosophical tone, running her fingers through her Mohawk. "I move around anyways, safer that way, so even if they weren't around, I'd be packing up and finding somewhere new anyways."

"Oh." Keiko thought for a moment. It was probably inevitable that Tari would run into gangs, even if she wasn't careful. "Are you... are you in one of the street gangs?"

"Feh, as if." Tari spat, baring her teeth in a snarl. "Bunch of violent, small-minded bullies. Only thing they'd want someone like me for is sex, and I'm no whore."

"Do they ever give you trouble, then?"

"Not anymore." Tari said grimly.

"Why not?" Keiko asked. Tari looked at her and Keiko shivered at the darkness in her eyes.

"You don't want to know." Tari told her. "You're a nice lady, you don't want my sins hanging over your head."

Keiko was silent after that. She knew about sin, about decisions made that weighed on the soul; hadn't they almost killed both her sons in order to keep Hao from being reborn? It hadn't come to that, but the knowledge of that decision, to kill an innocent baby to get at the one man they all despised, still kept her up some nights, wondering.

"Why is it you're talking to me?" She asked finally. "I've been here a few more times since we first met and everyone says you don't talk to anyone. So, why me?"

"There's two reasons for that." Tari mused. "One is that you're not preaching about how I need help and how I need to get into a program and all that shit. You just sit, and you talk to me, like I'm just another human being. You don't treat me like I'm broken and some dangerous animal."

"Because you're not." Keiko said firmly. "You're not broken." Tari smiled slightly again.

"The other reason is kind of stupid, but there's something telling me that I can trust you. A little voice inside me, which has yet to steer me wrong, so I listen to it." Tari let out a short bark of laughter. "You probably think I'm crazy now, listening to voices?"

"No, it's called your intuition." Keiko said confidently. "Everyone has it, yours is just honed by having to survive out on your own."

"Well then, that makes me feel like less of a freak." Tari said. She sketched the ankh on her page again and slid it to Keiko. Keiko looked down at it.

"You should try selling these." She said.

"Who would buy them?" Tari said with an impatient snort.

"Lots of people." Keiko replied. "Why don't I see if I can get this one sold?" She asked, tapping the page. Tari tilted her head, eying her speculatively and then slowly nodded.

"You come around here to volunteer often?" Tari asked.

"Yes."

"I might have to stop by more often then." She muttered, standing up and taking her leave, not without stealing a couple pencils though.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	3. Chapter 3

Star: I own nothing!

Yoh sighed, staring at the pay phone at the back of the restaurant. It was just about midnight, and he should have been sleeping, but he'd been tossing and turning all night. It had only been a few weeks after learning he was a twin, and he felt confused and frightened by the prospect that he might be the only one able to stop his twin and that his family was putting it all on his shoulders to stop him.

He dug in his pocket for some change and slipped it into the pay phone. He hesitated before picking up the receiver and dialling one of the few numbers he knew off by heart. The phone rang, and rang, and rang some more. Yoh bit his lip anxiously, it should be around dinner time in Japan, she should be home.

"**Hello this is the Asakura residence. Unfortunately Mrs. Asakura has relocated to Tokyo, she can be reached at-" **Yoh hung up the phone, frowning slightly. Why would his mother go to Tokyo? He dialled the number for the En inn and waited.

"**Hello?"** Yoh nearly collapsed in relief at the familiar voice.

"Hi, mom." He said softly.

"**Yoh! Oh my, it must be very late there."**

"It's about midnight." Yoh said carelessly. "What are you doing in Tokyo?" his mother chuckled a little sheepishly.

"**I got lonely in Izumo, and I thought that I'd be less lonely in the city. Besides, I wanted to see where you'd been living, sweetheart." **She told him. **"Is something wrong, Yoh? Why are you calling?"**

Yoh was silent a moment, trying to sort out his confused thoughts. "Why didn't anyone ever tell me before, about Hao?" He finally asked. His mother was silent for a long moment.

"**Would you have wanted that hanging over you your whole life?"** She finally asked.

"I don't know." Yoh admitted with a sigh. "It seems like it would be a huge burden."

"**Something we felt a child didn't need to worry about. We felt that it should stay a secret until it became absolutely necessary to tell you." **Keiko paused for a moment. **"What.. what is he like?" **

"Confident to the point of being arrogant, for the most part. He's got this magnetism about him, you want to listen to him. It's really hard to say anything more, because he's so in control of his emotions, he's enigmatic. There are some moments where the mask slips, but those are few and far between." Yoh hesitated. "He frightens me."

"**You're not the only one."** His mother assured him.

"It... it also scares me that I'm the one that's supposed to stop him, to... kill him." He said the last words in a whisper.

"**Oh sweetie." **Keiko sighed. **"I know how hard that must be for you to think about. Maybe it won't come to that though. You're good at finding ways to change how people think."**

"Yeah..." Yoh said, feeling doubtful. He was good at helping people, that was true, but a thousand year old shaman whose hatred had not abated over three lifetimes?

"**You'll find a way." **Keiko assured him.

"If you say so." Yoh chuckled, heartened by his mother's confidence. "So what have you been doing in Tokyo?"

"**Well, I work of course, but I've been spending some time volunteering at a facility that offers art programs to homeless young people." **

"You've been working with homeless kids?" Yoh asked with surprise.

"**Yes, there's one in particular that I've been talking with for the last few weeks. Her name is Tari, and I'm the only volunteer she's actually ever spoken to." **Keiko said with pride and some amount of surprise in her voice.

"Why is that?" Yoh asked.

"**Tari is a very good artist, but her subject matter tends to be fairly dark. Most of the other volunteers have labelled her as disturbed, and the only times they tried to talk to her was to convince her to get help." **Keiko explained. **"But I don't see a disturbed person when I look at her, she could use help, but not the kind that the other volunteers spoke of. I think they view her as a bit of a psychopath."**

"So, what's she really like then?" Yoh asked, curiosity roused.

"**I don't know much about her, truthfully. I know she's eighteen, she's fairly smart and although she looks quite tough, she can also be incredibly gentle. I don't know if she knows I saw her do this, but one day after she'd left the building I'd gone outside and noticed her help up a little girl who'd tripped on the sidewalk and talk to her a moment before her mother came back and noticed." **Keiko said. **"She seems quite cynical, and she's very distrusting, so it's amazing that she's chosen to open up to me, even a little bit."**

"I guess I know where I get it then." Yoh quipped, hearing his mother giggle.

"**She also really doesn't like being touched." **Keiko said thoughtfully. **"Almost her entire body is covered but her head, but the one time I reached out towards her, she reacted so quickly... I wonder if maybe she was abused or something and that it made her afraid of any sort of physical contact." **

"Hmm, could be." Yoh said thoughtfully. "What's she look like?"

"**She's very tall, I think as tall as Mikihisa at least. She's got black hair done up in a Mohawk and dark gold eyes. She looks muscular, but it's hard to tell because she's all covered up. She wears jeans, black combat boots, a black leather jacket and black leather gloves. I think part of the reason for the clothing is to intimidate other people. Oh, she also has four piercings in each ear." **

"She sounds like a tough person." Yoh observed.

"**She has to be, to survive on the streets. Now, I think it's time you got to bed, don't you think?"** Yoh could help but grin at the mothering tone.

"Yeah mom, I'm going. I love you."

"**I love you too, sweetie." **Keiko said and then hung up the phone. Yoh sighed and put the receiver back. He quietly walked out into the night. The chirp of frogs and crickets filled the silence as he walked, hands in his pockets. He paused to look up at the sky.

"The stars are nice here, aren't they?" A voice nearby mused. Yoh looked up and found Hao casually lounging on a rooftop close by. If Yoh were anyone else he would have either snapped at Hao or just walked off, but Yoh was Yoh and so he replied.

"Yeah, see a lot more of them here than back home."

"Of course, you lived in a city." There was no mistaking the sneer in Hao's voice. Yoh didn't rise to the bait though and went back to regarding the stars. "I'm surprised you're up so late."

Yoh shrugged carelessly. "I wanted to talk to my mom." He said, looking up and meeting Hao's eyes. "This is the best time to get a hold of her." A flicker of some strange emotion flitted across Hao's face and then was gone again. "Did you ever have a mother?" The question popped out before he could stop it.

"What, do you think I just popped out of the ground?" Hao said with superior amusement. Yoh felt himself flush and was glad of the darkness.

"Yeah, that was kind of stupid, but what was she like?" Hao was silent for a long, long moment, staring up at the sky, and Yoh began to wonder if he would answer at all.

"She was beautiful." Hao's quiet voice startled him a little bit.

"You must miss her." Yoh said sympathetically. There was another long silence.

"I do." Hao admitted. Yoh opened his mouth again but Hao disappeared in a flash of flames, leaving him alone in the night.

Yoh stared up at the sky for a moment more before trotting down the street towards his house. He was surprised that Hao had answered him at all, and he got the sneaking suspicion that Hao was just as surprised.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	4. Chapter 4

Wolf: Kinda just realized that this story is somewhat influenced by the Blind Side, which is an amazig movie, by the way. I own nothing!

"You've been awfully quiet today." Tari commented, toying with the charcoal pencil she held in her hand. She moved her right arm a little stiffly, grimacing slightly, as though in some pain.

"I was talking to my son last night." Keiko admitted.

"How's he doing?" Tari asked, starting to sketch out the outline of a face on her page.

"He's having a dilemma of sorts, actually." Keiko said.

"What kind of dilemma, if I may ask?" Tari didn't look up from her page, as usual.

"It's... complicated." Keiko said hesitantly. "I'm not sure even if you'd believe what I had to tell you, it's fairly out there." The soft scratch of the charcoal pencil halted and Tari raised her head to stare Keiko in the eyes.

"Try me." She said seriously. Keiko stared into her hot gold eyes and found a burning curiosity along with something that looked almost like hope. Without really knowing why Keiko found herself quietly explaining about shamans, and then Hao Asakura and the Shaman King tournament. She sat back when she was done, waiting for the inevitable.

"Jesus Christ, I thought I had problems." Tari muttered finally. "I do believe you." She said, looking into Keiko's worried eyes.

"Why?" Keiko blurted out. Tari gave her signature slight smile.

"You're not the only one with unbelievable secrets." She said. "You told me your secrets, now I'll tell you one of mine. The reason I don't like being touched, or touch other people is because when I do touch bare skin of someone else, I see how they're going to die."

"You see how people are going to die?" Keiko stared at her, wide-eyed. "I guess that would be a good reason not to want to be touched."

"One of my many issues." Tari said with a snort. "I can see and touch spirits, does that make me a shaman? Have you ever heard of anyone else like me?"

"No, I can't say I have." Keiko felt her heart twinge in sympathetic sorrow as Tari visibly deflated. "But that doesn't mean there aren't others out there. There's many strange and mysterious things in this world, and I don't claim to know about them all."

Tari gave her a half-grin. "Now you're just trying to cheer me up." She accused playfully. It was nice to have those moments seeing Tari acting like a typical teenager instead of the tough careworn woman she really was.

"Is it working?" Keiko asked, smiling back. Tari rubbed at her arm absently and turned back to her drawing. "Are you hurt?" Keiko asked worriedly. Tari came around the center more often now, but the days that Keiko didn't see was when she worried. She feared one day that she would find out that Tari had been stabbed or shot somewhere.

"Got sliced." Tari replied calmly. "Should see the other guy." She said to Keiko's worried look.

"Still..." Keiko murmured.

"I've had worse, trust me." Tari said with venom in her voice. Keiko looked down at the picture that Tari had drawn. It was a young woman, holding a small flame in her hands as shadows with claws and eyes and teeth edged in towards her. There was fear and helplessness in the woman's eyes. Keiko looked up into Tari's eyes and saw tiredness there. "I know I can survive, but sometimes it feels like the walls are closing in around me and that maybe this one time I won't get out alive. Fortunately I've been proven wrong each time."

She signed the page with an ankh and stood up to leave. Keiko stared at the paper, into the young woman's frightened eyes on the page. This, at last, was truly a cry for help and she would be damned if she didn't at least try to answer it.

Without really thinking about what she was doing she got up and ran for the door. "TARI!" She called, seeing that the big, Mohawk-toting girl had almost made it to the corner. "WAIT!" Tari stopped and turned. Keiko broke into another run, trying to catch up to her. Tari turned completely and loped towards her.

"What is it?" Tari asked.

"I can't let you go." Keiko said breathlessly, wondering what the hell she thought she was doing. Tari raised an eyebrow at her. "It terrifies me knowing that you're out there on your own, having to deal with gangs and shootings and all that sort of thing."

"I can handle it." Tari huffed. "I don't need help."

"Maybe not in that way, but what about the future?" Keiko demanded. "How are you planning on getting yourself off the streets? Or are you planning on being homeless for the rest of your life?" Tari gave her a thoughtful look. "I want to give you a chance, because you're talented, and I could see you becoming very successful, but not if you stay on the streets."

"What exactly are you proposing here?"

"I want you to come home with me."Keiko said, startled by the words that tripped their way out of her mouth. Tari gave her a suspicious look. "I know it sounds odd, but you can't get a job because your hygiene isn't that fantastic, you don't have proper ID and quite frankly you probably scare the living daylights out of most people, and because you don't have money you can't get a place to live or go to school, or anything. You're going nowhere Tari, but I want to help you get somewhere."

"Why would you want me in your house?" Tari demanded. "You barely know me."

"Yes, but I already care about you, enough that I lie awake at night wondering if you're bleeding to death somewhere." Keiko answered. Tari stared at her, hard eyes softening just a touch. Her head tilted to one side and she frowned slightly, as though listening to a voice only she could hear.

"There's some things I need from where I'm staying if I'm going to be moving house." She finally said. Keiko smiled and felt her shoulders sag in relief.

"I have my car, I can take you there." Tari nodded and stepped towards her. Keiko led her over to the parking lot and into her car. It was a quiet ride, except for Tari giving her directions. Keiko waited in the car while Tari disappeared into the network of alleys and wondered once more what the hell she was doing.

She'd just invited a girl that she hardly knew into her home! In addition to that this girl was homeless, possibly dangerous and possibly had mental issues as well. But, Tari had agreed, and that had taken an enormous amount of trust on the homeless girl's part, so perhaps she could rely on trust too. It wasn't as though Keiko was defenceless if it came down to that anyways.

After a few tense minutes Tari came back, toting a large, tattered shoulder bag, which she tossed in the back. "Is that it?"

"Everything that's important." Tari replied.

"Hmm, I can tell I'm going to be doing a lot of shopping with you, young lady." Keiko told her. Tari gave her a look like she didn't quite believe what she was saying. "If you're staying in my house you will not be wearing the same thing day in and day out."

"I don't want charity." Tari grumbled.

"Once you start making some money doing something we can think about repaying me, but right now your payment is allowing me to help you." Keiko said fiercely, kicking into 'mama-bear' mode. There was something in Tari's tone, like she didn't believe that she deserved to be treated like this, that brought out her motherly instincts. What had Tari's parents been like?

The drive home was quiet once again, Keiko allowing Tari to mull over the new development in her life. Her eyes widened when they turned into the driveway for the En inn. "You live here?"

"Well, it's more my son's place, but I've been living here for a short time." Keiko said with some amusement. "It's not as expensive as it looks, as the place is haunted."

"Like haunted, or haunted haunted." Tari asked, giving her a sceptical look.

"Haunted haunted. You'll be able to find that out yourself though, won't you?" Keiko teased. Tari's eyebrows and lips twitched, as though she wasn't really sure how to respond. "Well, let's go inside and get you set up."

Tari followed her inside, looking around with a blank expression at the old inn. "Why don't you go take a shower while I get you a room set up?" Tari nodded and followed Keiko upstairs to the bathroom, keeping her tote bag close.

While the shower was running Keiko opened up the windows of the room next to hers, to air it out, and found a spare futon to lay on the floor. The room was still bare, but Keiko supposed eventually Tari would put her art on the walls, or find something else to occupy the space. She mused to herself about what she would need to get for Tari when the shopped as the shower went on. It was nearly half an hour before Tari emerged again, fully clothed in a relatively clean pair of jeans, black socks and of course her leather jacket and gloves.

"You can take off your jacket and gloves in here, I know not to touch you." Tari shook her head sombrely. Her wet hair clung to her scalp, giving her an almost vulnerable look. "Well, this will be your room, in any case." Tari looked around for a moment and then put her bag on the floor, shoving it casually in the corner with her foot. It was like she'd claimed the place as truly hers.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	5. Chapter 5

Star: I own nothing but Tari and this plot!

Not long after Tari was settled in, Keiko found herself whipping up an early dinner for the two of them in response to a rather large growl from Tari's stomach. She'd shooed her out of the kitchen when she'd asked if she could help and as far as she knew was either wandering around the place or drawing somewhere.

"Need clothes, proper drawing materials, I wonder if she paints too." Keiko mused to herself. "Maybe she likes music, I don't know. What about decoration for her room? She likes to read too."

She smiled to herself at the last thought. Tari had pulled out two books to stack on her small bookshelf. One was a book on Egyptian mythology and another was on Ancient Egyptian culture. "Egypt fascinates me." was Tari's only explanation.

"Hmm, it's a good thing father won't be home any time soon." She smiled to herself. "He'd try to kick her right back out. Now, what else... if she wants to go to art school, she'll probably need to finish her high school degree, wonder if there's any night courses she can take? TARI, DINNER!"

A moment later Tari came tromping down the stairs. "Took me a second to realize that I wasn't being attacked or something." She said. "I wouldn't yell when I'm close by, at least for a little while."

"I'll try to remember." Keiko said. "Anything I should watch out for if I startle you?"

Tari thought for a moment and then pulled a switchblade out of her pocket. "You'll have to forgive me, I've been out on the street too long to feel comfortable not having this on me."

Keiko nodded, staring at the blade wide-eyed. "Well, ah... Remind me not to sneak up on you." She said, trying to make a joke of it. Tari put the switchblade back in her pocket and sat down at the table. She just stared at the food for a long while before slowly reaching out to put some on her plate.

Once she started eating though she devoured everything in reach, going for seconds and then thirds. Keiko could only watch in a horrified kind of fascination as all the food just disappeared. She knew Tari would probably be hungry, but didn't consider she might be starving!

"Thank you." Tari said, licking her fingers clean.

"Hmm, I think we should get you to a doctor to do a check-up." Keiko suggested. Tari stiffened.

"No doctors." She said in a low, monotone voice. "There's nothing wrong with me that some good meals and a few good nights' sleep can't cure."

"Still... I know you have an aversion to touching, but the doctor should be willing to wear gloves."

"That doesn't matter, I don't take my clothes off for anyone." Tari said firmly, burning eyes warning her not to keep arguing. Keiko sighed.

"You're as stubborn as my husband can be." She shook her head. "Alright. I'll pick you up some multivitamins to help with your malnutrition."

"Fair enough." Tari said. "You want me to do the dishes, since you made the food?"

"If you want to." Keiko said. She knew that Tari didn't like feeling like she was being given charity, so allowing her to help out around the house would be one way to convince her she was doing her share. "I think I'm going to need to buy groceries, if you're going to be eating as much as I think you are."

"I can cut back." Tari mumbled. Keiko chuckled.

"I have a teenaged son, I'm used to large appetites, I just haven't had to shop for them in awhile." She assured the younger woman. "Would you like to come, or would you rather stay home?"

"I'll stay here." Tari said, hunching her shoulders a little bit. Keiko tried not to consider the fact that if she was left alone in the inn there would be nothing stopping her from stealing what she wanted and leaving again. She mentally shrugged; if Tari did that at least she had gotten a decent shower and a good meal in before then.

%&%&%&%&%

Yoh waited as the pay phone rang, and rang, and rang. "Come on, pick up." He begged quietly. She'd been home the other day, but would she be home today? It wasn't as though he could come back later, he was already losing enough sleep making calls at midnight. The phone clicked on in the middle of the dial tone and he let out a sigh of relief.

"**Hello?" **He frowned at the low, husky, feminine voice that came on the phone.

"I'm sorry, I must have the wrong number."

"**Who were you looking for?" **The voice asked before he could hang up.

"Keiko Asakura."

"**She's gone to run some errands." **The voice told him. **"You her kid?" **

"Yeah, I'm Yoh."

"**I'm Tari." **

"Oh! Mom told me about you. What are you doing at the inn?"

"**Your mom seems to think I need taking care of, so I'm staying here." **Tari said with a small chuckle.

"Yeah, me and my mom both have the mentality that we need to help people." Yoh said. "But why now? From what I understand she's known you a little while already, why not sooner?"

"**She probably figured I'd think she was after something, which, if it had been anyone else, I would have. But I got hurt in a fight and she... she's been afraid of me winding up dead, so she decided to take matters into her own hands."** Tari's tone was awed, like she didn't believe that anyone could care enough about her to worry like that.

"Why do you trust her enough to let her take you home?" Yoh asked. There was silence for a moment.

"**I'm not completely sure of that myself. I know my intuition tells me I can trust her, and it's never steered me wrong, but... it's like she's got this aura of... light and honesty about her." **Tari paused for a moment. **"You're a shaman, right?"**

"Yeah, how'd you know-"

"**Keiko told me everything, about shamans, the tournament, even about your brother." **Yoh gulped. **"Must be rough on you, all that responsibility?"**

"Yeah." He whispered, swallowing past a lump in his throat.

"**Didn't mean to bring up anything painful... I just wanted to ask a question... but you have to swear you won't tell anyone else."**

"On my honour as a warrior, I will tell no one." Yoh said. Tari stayed silent for a long time and then spoke again.

"**When I touch someone, or they touch me, skin-to-skin, I see how they're going to die." **Her voice was soft, barely there. **"Have you ever heard of anyone else that can do that?"**

"I'm sorry, but no." Yoh said, hearing Tari let out a disappointed sigh. "If I... If I tell people I found the concept somewhere, like a myth or something, would you allow me to ask around here? There are shamans from pretty much every walk of life, and if it's something that's been seen before, I'm sure someone will know about it. I won't name you, I promise."

"**If you think it will help." **Tari said sceptically.

"You never know until you try." Yoh replied happily. "Okay, I should go, it's pretty late here, tell mom hi for me!" With that he hung up the phone and trotted off, pondering Tari's unusual ability. Outside he saw Hao outline against the stars again. He thought for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders, no harm in asking.

"Hey, Hao!" He yelled. The fire shaman glanced at him with an expression of disinterest and then looked away again. "I have a question for you, do you mind?"

"Something tells me you'll ask no matter what I say." Hao mused.

"Have you ever heard of anyone that can tell how someone's going to die, just by touching them?" Yoh asked quickly. Hao looked down at him again, faintly interested.

"And where did you hear of something like that?"

"Some book of myths or something I read a long time ago." Yoh replied blithely. Hao's eyes narrowed in the dark, as though trying to decipher the truth.

"I've never heard of such a thing." Hao said dismissively. "Not all legends are true." With that Hao turned and walked away, ending the conversation.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	6. Chapter 6

Star: I own nothing!

Keiko was careful not to yell when she got home, though she closed the door loudly without slamming it to let Tari know she was home. "Your kid called." Tari said, her voice drifting to Keiko from the living room.

"Yoh? What did he want?"

"He just wanted to talk to you, but I talked to him instead... should I have asked him to call back?"

"No, it's after midnight there and he needs to be sleeping. I really hope he doesn't make a habit of this." Keiko murmured to herself, stocking up the fridge with the groceries she'd bought. The dishes from dinner were stacked nicely in the drying rack and the counters and stove had been cleared and cleaned. Keiko turned to see Tari standing in the doorway, face expressionless. Keiko could see what looked like worry in her eyes though.

"Thank you for cleaning the counters." Keiko said with a smile. The tension left Tari's body and she rewarded Keiko with her slight smile. Keiko wondered what it would take to coax a grin onto those lips. "I picked up some things for you on the way home, there's an art supply store nearby." She took out a bag and showed Tari the small canvases and the paints and paintbrushes. "I wasn't sure if you painted or not."

"I did, once upon a time." She said in a low voice, moving forward a little. Her eyes widened. "Those are really good paints. It's going to take me a long time to pay you back for them."

"I don't expect you to pay me back for them." Keiko said, shaking her head. To her surprise, a spark of fear leapt into Tari's eyes and she backed up a bit, shoulders hunching.

"Then what do you want from me?" Tari asked, voice a soft growl.

"I don't want anything from you." Keiko said, perplexed by Tari's behaviour.

"No one gives something for nothing." Tari growled suspiciously.

"Sure they do, all the time." Keiko protested.

"Not for a _freak_ like me." Tari spat venomously, teeth bared in a snarl.

"A freak?" Keiko said, setting down the paints and stepping towards Tari. "Is that what you think of yourself?"

"It's what I am." Tari said with bitter resignation.

"No, you're not. Just because you're different, doesn't mean you're a freak." Tari snorted sceptically. "Alright, let me tell you what I see when I look at you. I see a strong, courageous, talented, intelligent, _beautiful_ young woman who's fallen on some hard times and needs just a hand to get her back on her feet."

Tari looked down at her black socks and licked her lips, brows furrowing together as she thought. "You think I'm beautiful?" She asked hesitantly.

"You are beautiful. You have cheekbones models would die for and the most exotic eyes... you could break any guy's, or girl's, heart." Tari met her eyes and Keiko's heart ached at the pain in them. "As long as you're in this house, you will be considered family, and family doesn't need to pay anything back."

"Why would you want me?" Tari asked, voice betraying the isolation she'd probably felt all her life.

"Because I see you, the real you, talented, intelligent, beautiful Tari." Keiko said reassuringly. It was a little like trying to tame a frightened animal she supposed. She needed to make Tari feel comfortable, welcome even though she was suspicious of her good intentions.

"Nobody wanted me." Tari muttered, eyes guarded again. "Not even..."

"Not even your parents?" Keiko guessed. Tari looked away again.

"Whoever was my father was gone before Hotaru had me." She muttered.

"You call your mother by her first name?"

"Well she certainly never acted like a mother to me." Tari said angrily. "I refuse to acknowledge that I'm related to that drug-addicted bitch."

"Alright, no need to get angry." Keiko soothed. "How long has your... Hotaru been doing drugs?" Tari closed her eyes, looking weary.

"I'm not sure I remember a time when she wasn't doing something." She murmured. "Why am I even talking about all this?" She asked herself in a tone of disbelief.

"Maybe because you've never had anyone to talk to before?" Keiko suggested. Tari tilted her head slightly, thinking on that. "Here, why don't you see if you can find somewhere to put all this." Keiko said, holding out the bags of art supplies to Tari. Tari nodded and wandered off, frowning slightly to herself.

Keiko finished putting the groceries away, resolving to give Tari a little time to herself to think about things. Some of her behaviour made a lot more sense now. She had at the very least a neglectful mother, if not an abusive one and so she'd learned a long time ago that if she couldn't even trust someone who was supposed to take care of her, she couldn't trust anyone.

And then there was the issue of her unique ability. Tari probably avoided relationships of any kind for fear of being touched. It wasn't as though she could up-front tell anyone why she couldn't be touched, most people would just think she was crazy. It was no wonder she'd never had anyone in her life that she trusted enough to talk to before.

Keiko wondered what would have become of Tari if she hadn't sat down with her that day. Tari probably wouldn't have accepted help from anyone else, fearing close contact with other people and not being able to explain why. It was more than likely she would have died on the streets, either of some illness or by the violence she faced every day.

She would likely having play therapist, if Tari decided she trusted her enough to divulge more of her past. The self-loathing when Tari had said the word 'freak' had been frightening to Keiko. It seemed like a knee-jerk reaction though, an emotion remembered rather than truly felt. It still worried her though.

She sighed and made herself a cup of tea. She was going to have to make caring for Tari her priority for now, at least until she felt comfortable with the idea that she had a home. She was suddenly very glad that her father was far away in America, because he would be quite adamant about not having Tari here, foisting her off on Social Services or something. Tari didn't need that, she needed someone who could understand her, who could believe in her.

She allowed herself to feel a rush of resentment towards her father. He had an iron grip on the family and made all the decisions. It was him who decided that killing Hao at birth was the best option, despite Keiko's suggestion they seal his powers and his Spirit of Fire and raise him as their own. Killing him only meant that he would come back more powerful for their descendents to deal with, so why not try something different?

Of course he wouldn't want Tari around, she wouldn't fit his plans, and in spite of her unique ability, she probably wouldn't be any use to him. She bit her lip, hoping Yoh would have the presence of mind not to talk about Tari and let her father know she was living there. She could only imagine the phone call that would occur if he did.

%&%&%&%

Unbeknownst to Keiko, an ocean away her son was having the same sort of thoughts as her. His grandfather would probably freak out knowing there was a homeless person living in the En inn, and it wouldn't matter to him if she had some unusual ability or not. He decided it would be best if he kept Tari a secret for now, at least until he talked to his mother about it.

Yoh sighed and rolled over onto his back, lacing his hands behind his head. He should have been sleeping, but he'd found he couldn't fall asleep. He wondered what Tari was like in person. She'd seemed nice enough on the phone, if a little reluctant to talk to him for too long.

He hoped she would still be around when the tournament was over, so he could meet her in person, that is... if he survived. He shook his head, clearing those thoughts away. It wasn't good to dwell on the negative in his opinion.

He wondered idly if his mother was thinking of maybe adopting Tari into the family. It would be nice to have a sibling, a real one. He wished he could count Hao, but Hao didn't view him as anything but a tool to be used, or an idiot.

Amidst all these thoughts Yoh finally found himself falling asleep. His dreams were calm for the first time in days and were filled with the rumble of a voice he hoped to hear from again soon.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	7. Chapter 7

Star: I own nothing!

Keiko gave Tari her space as she prowled around the house like a caged panther for close to two weeks. It wasn't uncommon that Keiko would turn around and find Tari had entered the room without making a sound. After the first couple near heart attacks Keiko got used to it. She understood that Tari felt uncomfortable in the house, both from her time on the streets, and, Keiko guessed, her abuse at the hands of her mother.

They had both spoken to Yoh a couple more times and Tari had been discouraged to hear that no one had ever heard of an ability like hers. Keiko had gone on a campaign then to correct Tari's usage of the word freak and weirdo in reference to herself to the word unique, or special.

"Doesn't matter how pretty you dress it up, I still can do something that no one else can do and that makes me a freak." Tari growled one day.

"We don't know for sure if you're the only one." Keiko retorted in exasperation.

"If the shamans can't find it..."

"We're not all-knowing." Keiko had laughed. "There are things yet in this universe that even we don't understand. You could be a part of some lost tribe, I don't know. We don't know who you father was, so logically it has something to do with him."

"Guess so." Tari shrugged, her typical response to about everything. Keiko eyed the young woman sitting across from her at the table with some amusement. Aside from her obvious uncertainty about being welcomed into Keiko's home, Tari had mostly adjusted to life in the inn.

Keiko found that if she left change lying around it would be gone next time she looked and packages of ramen, soup and other non-perishables would disappear from the cupboards. Tari was hoarding, still feeling like she had to make sure she had enough to survive. That kind of attitude would fade and Keiko would ignore the odd missing package of noodles and swiped spare change until then.

Despite the fact that Tari acted a little like a caged wild animal she'd shown no inclination to leave the premises. She went outside in the backyard, but she never left the property on her own, at all. Keiko had an idea that she feared if she left and came back it would either be gone or she would find herself locked out. The only time she left was when Keiko had taken her shopping for clothes and other things.

"I hope you're keeping that room of yours clean." Keiko commented. One thing that Tari had been stubborn about was that her room was _her_ space, and no one else was allowed in it whether or not she was in there. Keiko respected this, but she often wondered what she was doing in there when she'd close the door and stay for hours at a time, often with her music blaring.

Tari puffed out her cheeks at her playfully for the remark. Keiko noted that her face ha filled out a little and the dark circles around her eyes were disappearing. She couldn't tell if the rest of her was filling out under the bulky clothes she preferred to wear, and she still ate like she was facing a famine.

The phone rang then and Keiko rushed to it, pushing the speakerphone function. "Hello?"

"**Hi mom, hi Tari." **Yoh's voice came through the phone.

"Hello Yoh. What's going on with you?" Tari asked.

"**Things are getting pretty tense here. Lyserg's angry at me, I think the X-Laws believe somehow I'm in league with Hao and Hao is killing all his opponents." **Yoh summarized with a sigh. **"I think things are going to be coming to a head soon, and I'm worried that some of us might not come out alive."**

Keiko frowned slightly, the world-weary tone of Yoh's voice was so unlike him. "Yoh, sweetie, are you alright?"

"**Just stressed out. On the one hand I've got grandfather telling me it's my duty to destroy Hao, and on the other I've got Hao telling me it's my destiny to join him. I just feel..."**

"Like you're being pulled apart?" Tari suggested.

"**Yeah." **Yoh agreed. **"But enough about those issues, everything will work out in the end, right?" **Like flicking a switch Yoh was back to his normal cheerful self. **"Anything exciting over there?"**

"Well your mother seems to think she can get me some culture." Tari said. She was a lot more open when she was talking with Yoh.

"**Uh oh, what's she doing now?" **

"We're going to be going to see the Phantom of the Opera onstage in a few months." Keiko explained.

"**Aww, lucky!"**

"I saved a ticket for you, just in case you got home in time,"

"**You're the best, mom. I should go, I have a match in the morning." **Yoh said regretfully. **"Bye mom, bye Tari."**

"Bye." They chorused together. The connection cut off and Keiko turned off the phone.

"My father puts too much pressure on that poor boy." Keiko commented. Tari hummed in agreement. "Just a question, but what do you think is worse? Your mother's treatment of you, or my father's treatment of Yoh?"

Tari laced her glove-clad fingers together and cocked her head to the side. "Tough question, but I'd say they're comparable. While my mother was horrid to me, I never expected anything else and even my hopes were just wishful thinking. Yoh's grown up in a loving environment and now he's being pressured to do something he knows he can't do. Both situations are damaging to our psyche, but in different ways."

"Hmm, I suppose." Keiko paused for a moment. Tari trusted her, but did she trust her enough to not be suspicious of the next question she wanted to ask? Well, she wouldn't know until she at least tried. "What was the worst thing your mother ever did to you?"

For a long uncomfortable moment Tari just stared at her, gold eyes unreadable. Keiko began to suspect she'd crossed the line until Tari began to slowly peel off her gloves. Keiko stared at her uncomprehendingly as large but delicate hands with long thin fingers were revealed to her. Tari put the gloves aside and placed her hands palm up on the table for Keiko to see.

Keiko stared and let out a gasp. A splotch of scar tissue marred the centers of both palms. "What happened?" She cried, and without thinking, reached out and gripped both of Tari's hands in hers.

Too late she realized her mistake as Tari's body went rigid and her eyes went wide, the pupils seeming to expand as black took over her entire eyes for an instant. And then it was gone and Tari had pushed herself away from the table, her expression angry and frightened.

"I-I'm sorry Tari." Keiko said, holding her hands up in a placating gesture. "I was startled, and I forgot. Please forgive me."

Tari's expression softened and she scooted back to the table again. She held out her hands again, palm up. Keiko drew her own hands back hesitantly. "It's okay." Tari assured her. "Once it happens once it never happens again, so you're free to touch me."

Keiko complied and gripped Tari's hands, rubbing her thumb over the smooth scar tissue. "Your mother did this?"

"Yeah, she used to use me as her ashtray to put out her cigarettes. Fucking bitch." Tari bared her teeth in a growl. "That isn't the worst thing though. Turn over my hands."

Keiko did as instructed and was horrified yet again. Carved into the back of Tari's left hand was the word LOVE and on the back of the right HATE was carved. Keiko traced the lines with growing dismay. She looked up into Tari's face, seeing grim resignation there.

"Did your mother do this to you too?" She asked quietly.

"No." Tari's voice was quiet. "I did." Keiko was shocked.

"You? But... but why?" Tari began slowly shrugging off her leather jacket, revealing toned arms covered in a multitude of scars. There were pentagrams and crescent moons, swirled patterns and more. It was beautiful, artistic in a way, but still shocking in its brutality. Upon her left bicep the word ANIMAL had been carved, and on its partner, FREAK. Keiko felt tears well up in her eyes at the overwhelming evidence of self-hate.

"Before I started going to school I thought all parents were like mine, but I got a rude wake-up call. I started trying to be a good daughter, so Hotaru would love me like all the other moms seemed to love their kids. I got some of the best grades in the class, never got into trouble, but it was never enough. Any time Hotaru roused herself from her drug and alcohol-induced haze I found myself under attack."

"And you started to hate yourself." Tari nodded.

"There was so much pain and anger in me, and I couldn't get rid of it. The first time I cut myself, allowing the pain to manifest into something physical, something I could control, was a relief. I cut myself to relieve the feelings of pain, and to punish myself. I believed it was my fault Hotaru didn't love, my fault she only ever bought drugs and never groceries, my fault she brought home scuzzbags who would leer at me and try and touch my ass or tits."

"None of that was your fault honey." Keiko tried to assure her.

"I know that now." Tari told her. "Once I was out on the streets and away from the source of my pain, I could think clearly again, and mostly reconciled with myself. I don't hate myself anymore, but I hate my curse, and nothing can change that."

"Why did you finally leave?"

"Hotaru's latest boyfriend went one step further than the rest and tried to force himself on me. By that point I was already considerably stronger than most girls my age and fought him off and chased him out. Hotaru started screaming at me and throwing beer bottles. It was then that I'd decided I'd had enough, packed up my stuff and left."

Keiko took a moment to absorb all this and then stood up, walking over to Tari's side of the table. "May I give you a hug?" She asked. Tari's head jerked up in surprise and golden eyes met tear-filled brown. Slowly she stood up and nodded. Keiko wrapped one arm around Tari's shoulders and the other cupped the back of her head. Tari relaxed into the embrace and lowered her head to rest her forehead on Keiko's shoulder, allowing probably the first true hug that she'd ever been given.

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Star: Review plz!


	8. Chapter 8

Star: I own nothing!

With the second of her dark secrets now out in the open Tari became a lot more relaxed around the house. Keiko realized that she now felt safe with her because she hadn't rejected her because of her past. She was still cagey about certain things but something had changed, and they both knew it. She no longer prowled like a caged animal, but rather some big cat or wolf inspecting its territory.

Keiko was musing on these changes, sitting outside on the back porch with a cup of tea, when Tari cleared her throat behind her. Tari stood there, looking a little uncertain and somewhat embarrassed. She was only wearing a tank top today, showing off her scars. They still were jarring for Keiko to look at, though most of the horror had faded. She was holding something behind her back.

"I... uh... I know you said I don't owe you anything for all the stuff you bought me and taking me in and everything, but I still feel like I owe you, for saving my life." Tari looked uncomfortable with her display of emotion and without any flourish brought a small canvas out from behind her back and held it out to Keiko.

Keiko took it and found a painting of herself in the form of an angel with soft white wings holding out her hand towards someone with a smile on her face. The painting spoke more volumes than Tari herself could ever say and Keiko found herself tearing up. She put the painting aside and stood up, wrapping her arms around Tari.

"It's beautiful, really." Keiko told her. "It's the best thank you I could ask for from you." She cupped Tari's face in her hands, having no fear of touching her anymore and brought her head down enough so that she could kiss Tari's forehead. A brief startled smile flitted across Tari's face and then was gone again. "I'll have to get it framed and put it up in my bedroom."

"I'd be honoured if you did." Tari said sincerely. "You're the first person who's ever cared about me this much, and sometimes I feel like this is all just a dream."

Keiko smiled and reached out to pinch one of Tari's cheeks. "You're still here, so it must be real." She said in response to Tari's yelp. Tari gave her a slightly reproachful look, but then smiled tentatively. Keiko touched the scars on Tari's arms, lightly brushing the few pockmarks amongst the symbols that marked where she'd been burned by cigarettes. "Is this all there is? I was too afraid to ask before, but I've kind of gotten used to them."

"They're everywhere I could reach." Tari replied. "Made my body my canvas."

"May I see them?" Tari chewed at her lip and then lifted her arms, pulling her tank top off. She flung it down and worked her belt off, shimmying out of her loose jeans. She stood tall, unselfconsciously, in only her bra and panties.

Keiko noticed that despite the fact that Tari had broader shoulders than most women she was really quite thin. Part of that was of course due to her time on the streets, as evidenced by the appearance of her rib cage when she inhaled deeply, but she appeared quite fine boned. Without the baggy clothes Keiko found her to have some nicely feminine curves, though they weren't hugely evident.

She turned her attention then to the scars that had been revealed to her. The two biggest were on her stomach, on either side of her belly button; A large ankh on the right side and the Eye of Wadjet on the left. A small sun was carefully carved around her belly button. Carved on her legs were a variety of symbols including a bunch of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and the symbol for Taurus.

"You're a Taurus?" Keiko asked, trying to find at least one thing to say.

"Yup, my birthday is April 29th, I think." Tari frowned slightly. "Hotaru never bothered to keep track and I didn't have much in the way of ID."

"Hmm, we'll have to get on that if you're going to get into classes in the fall." Keiko said. "You're probably in some hospital database somewhere, although somehow I don't think Nefertiri was your bith name." Tari smirked faintly at that and looked down at her bare feet. Keiko noticed more cigarette burn pockmarks there too.

"Haru Yamamoto." Tari said. "That was the name I was given." She stared at Keiko. "But she doesn't exist anymore, not in my mind anyways."

"I understand." Keiko assured her. "Once we find a birth certificate or something you should be able to legally change your name." And maybe she would be able to leave that past behind her, Keiko thought to herself.

%&%&%&%&%

Yoh stared at the pay phone for a long time, feeling physically and emotionally exhausted. His friends were probably still celebrating, despite the late hour, but Yoh didn't want to celebrate. He didn't think that supposedly killing his own brother was something for them to celebrate. The only reason he wasn't curled up in a corner, completely disgusted with himself was because he knew that Hao was still alive.

Finally he picked up the phone and dialled, hoping at least one person would understand his feelings. **"Hello?" **He sighed in relief at the sound of his mother's voice.

"Hi mom."

"**Hi sweetie."**

"**You sound tired, kid." **Tari's growl came through loud and clear.

"Yeah, I'm pretty wiped out, but I have some good news."

"**What? What?" **His mother demanded eagerly.

"We'll all be coming home soon." Yoh said, mustering some enthusiasm from his fatigue-fogged state.

"**That's wonderful!"**

"**So, the tournament is over?" **Tari asked.

"Uhh, not quite." Yoh explained the events of that day, feeling his tiredness weigh even heavier on him with the telling. When he was done there was a long, painful silence on the other end of the phone.

"**Oh, sweetie..." **His mother finally sighed. **"You could probably use a hug right now, huh?" **Yoh let out a bark of laughter even as he felt his throat tighten.

"**So, that means Hao's dead?" **

"No, Tari, he's not." Yoh sighed. "I made sure the blow wasn't fatal, he's probably going to be awhile recovering, but he's not dead, of that I'm certain."

"**You made sure the blow was not lethal?" **His mother didn't sound very surprised, but she did sound worried. **"Are you sure that was wise?"**

"If I'd killed him he'd only be back again in five hundred years, stronger than ever and with a greater vendetta against our family." Yoh replied. "I don't know what I'm going to do, but hopefully he's out of commission long enough for me to think of something."

"**And in the meantime you're coming home?"**

"Yeah, I think the Great Spirit needs time to recover and so the Patch are closing down the village until then." Yoh explained. "Everyone else is partying."

"**But you don't feel like celebrating."** His mother chuckled. **"You always saw everyone's worth, even if no one else could. Well, I can't say I'm not happy to hear that you'll be home soon. Are your grandparents coming here?"**

"No, I think they've already left for Izumo, actually." His mother breathed a sigh of relief. "Worried about how they'll react to Tari?"

"**Well, you know what your grandfather can be like." **

"Yeah, I know." Yoh said ruefully. "I am excited to finally meet you in person."

"**Likewise." **

"Well, I should probably go before they start hunting for me. Goodbye!" Yoh felt a little bit lighter when he hung up the phone, but no less exhausted. He wandered off, determined to go find some sleep.

%&%&%&%

"So, Yoh's coming home." Tari said slowly.

"Uh huh." Keiko said happily.

"And you're not going to be kicking me out?" Keiko blinked at her in confusion before smiling and moving forward to cup Tari's cheeks.

"As far as I'm concerned, you're a part of this family and have as much right to be here as anyone else." Keiko murmured, their foreheads touching together.

"Thank you Keiko." Tari said, her husky voice soft. "For everything."

~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Star: Review plz!


	9. Chapter 9

Star: I own nothing!

Yoh was tired but excited as they stepped off the plane into Tokyo airport. It was good to be back home. His friends were all in various stages of jet lag as they headed through the airport and caught a couple of cabs. It was him, Ren, Horohoro, and Manta in one and Anna, his father, Ryu and Faust in the other. All of them had decided to accompany him and stay for at least a little while.

As they rolled through the city Yoh's thoughts turned to Tari, who would be at home with his mother. He was excited to finally meet her in person and hoped she was excited too, though she seemed like the kind of person who would keep that sort of thing to herself. He wondered how the others would react to her; Anna would probably be against having her there, especially after learning that Tari had been homeless.

Everyone piled or tripped their way out of the cabs, except his father, who seemed mysteriously free of any jet lag symptoms. Yoh shook his head, he still had really no idea what his father was like, other than that he seemed to have a very theatrical personality. He seemed to like taking in strays as well, so he'd probably like Tari.

"Wow, are those your boots Ryu?" Horohoro commented as they took off their shoes, spotting a pair of big, worn leather boots on the shoe mat.

"No, never seen those before." Ryu replied. Yoh knew exactly who the boots belonged to, but didn't spoil the surprise.

As soon as he walked into the living room he was nearly knocked off his feet by his mother's hug. "Yoh, you're home!" She cried. She pulled back and inspected him at arm's length. "And you've grown!" Yoh blushed slightly in embarrassment, but allowed his mother to kiss his forehead lovingly.

When she stepped aside to greet her husband Yoh finally noticed the young woman standing at the foot of the stairs. Cafe au lait skin, golden eyes and black hair shaped into a wavy Mohawk style gave Tari an exotic look. She was taller than any other woman he'd ever seen and carried herself like she was ready for a fight.

"Hi Tari." Yoh greeted, stepping forward towards her. "It's nice to finally meet you."

Tari looked down at him, deep gold eyes scrutinizing him critically. Slowly a faint smile crossed her face. "It's nice to meet you too, Yoh." Her deep growl of a voice was already familiar to him. He would have loved to hug her out of happiness, but knew well enough the issues she had with touching to contain himself.

"Who is this?" Anna demanded, her eyes narrowed at the taller, older girl. Tari stared impassively back at her.

"This is Tari." Keiko answered. "She's staying here until we can figure out how to get her life on track."

"Why doesn't have her own family help with that?" Anna demanded.

"I've been on the streets for more than two years because my stupid bitch of a mother cared more about her next hit than taking care of me." Tari said viciously. "I don't have a family anymore."

"You let a _thug_ in here?" Anna screeched.

"Technically Ryu's a thug." Yoh reminded her. "Tari's been here for almost a month with Mom, I doubt she's going to do anything."

"Except hoard away packages of food." Keiko commented from the circle of her husband's arms. "Yes, I know about that, but I understand." She said in response to Tari's startled look. "And it's not your decision whether she stays or not. She can be viewed as family now."

"Come on Anna, I've been talking to her for awhile, she's pretty nice, once you get past her suspicious nature." Yoh cast an apologetic look at Tari, who shrugged in response.

"You've been keeping secrets." Ren accused.

"I didn't think it would go over well if my grandfather found out, so I kept it to myself." Yoh said unrepentantly. "I'm pretty sure she preferred that less people were aware of her as well." Tari nodded in agreement.

Anna marched right up to Tari and glared up at her, the sight almost comical because of the height differences. "I don't care what you've been getting away with here for the past few weeks, but I run this household and you will obey my rules, or I will kick you out." She said in her most threatening tone. For most this tone was enough to send them scurrying for cover.

Tari, however, stared down her nose at Anna with all the distaste of someone who had discovered they'd trodden in something nasty. "Last time I checked Keiko invited me here." She said, her voice a low, dangerous rumble. "Therefore the only person I will be willing to take orders from or view as having the power to kick me out, is her. If you ask me nicely, I may do as you ask, but if you demand, I'll walk away. Oh, and here's my rules," Tari moved forward a tiny step so that she was looming over Anna. "Don't go in my room, don't touch my, stuff and don't touch me. If you can handle those simple little things, we won't have any problems. That goes for all of the rest of you as well."

Anna stepped back, intimidated for the first time that anyone had ever seen. It wasn't hard to see why; the tall, leather-clad, Mohawk-ed and blazing eyed teenager looked as though she could kill you soon as look at you. Yoh knew that wasn't true, that it was mostly the illusion that Tari had created to keep herself safe on the streets, but none of the others did.

"I see you're not one who can be lead with a heavy hand." Mikihisa stated with a chuckled, disentangling himself from his wife and coming to inspect Tari. Yoh was amused to see that they were the same height. "It's nice to see a young lady who can take care of herself."

He bowed his head to her, and Tari returned the gesture, eying him curiously. Mikihisa's two spirits, Imari and Shigaraki, appeared and moved forward, noses twitching as they examined Tari. Tari watched them as they slowly circled around her, sniffing.

"So you can see them." Mikihisa noted. "You're like Yoh's friend, Manta." He indicated the diminutive teenager. "He has a sixth sense, but no shamanic capabilities, like you."

Tari only appeared to be half-listening and reached one gloved hand out, brushing against Imari's fur lightly. Shigaraki bumped against her side and she softly scratched at his ears, prompting a little tail wag. Almost everyone's jaw just dropped to the ground.

"But-but... she's not a shaman!" Horohoro yelped. "Is she?"

"No, I don't sense any kind of shamanic power in her." Ren said, looking at Tari with fresh curiosity. "How are you doing that?"

"I just can." Tari snapped shortly. "Always have. No need to remind me that I'm a fr-"

"Tari." Keiko cut her off. "We don't use that word, remember."

"What's going on?" Manta asked, completely lost.

"It's your choice if you want to tell them or not." Yoh told Tari, who seemed conflicted. "Every one of them I would trust with my life, and they won't think you're weird."

Tari chewed at her lip, eying each one of them, and then looked back down into Yoh's earnest eyes, cocking her head in that manner that Keiko thought looked like she was listening to someone. "When I touch someone, or they touch me, I can see how they're going to die."

There was silence for a moment. "I can see why you would have an aversion to being touched then." Faust said calmly in his whispery voice. Tari tilted her head, seeing Faust arm-in-arm with Eliza.

"She your girlfriend?" She asked bluntly.

"Wife." Faust corrected.

"Now that's taking till death do we part and kicking it in the can." She said with a faint smile. "You are correct, I don't accept touch from anyone, except ghosts, and Keiko."

"Why?" Anna asked snobbily.

"She already touched me by accident. After the first time I don't see it anymore." Tari explained.

"So why not just touch people and get it over with? I think you're just neurotic." Anna said with a glare. Tari's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"How would you feel, if you had the knowledge of dozens of people's deaths kicking around in your brain, and you know you can't do anything about it?" She growled. "I'm already messed up in the head enough, I don't need more issues on top of the ones I already have."

"What do you mean you can't change it?" Ryu asked.

"Haven't you ever read Greek myths? Every time someone tries to change their fate it always backfires." Tari's brow furrowed. "I don't know how I know I should not interfere, but I do, and I know that it's the same principle."

"You just know?" Anna scoffed. "I still say this girl is crazy."

"It doesn't matter what you think Anna, or how threatened you feel by her presence, she's staying, and that's final." Keiko said firmly.


	10. Chapter 10

Star: I own nothing!

Yoh and Ryu found themselves relegated to dinner duty that day. Tari had disappeared pretty much right after her introduction and Anna had been in a fine snit since then, snapping at anyone and ordering them around with more ferocity than usual. She was now firmly seated in front of the television, muttering darkly to herself.

"Geez, that Tari, she's something isn't she?" Ryu remarked with an equal amount of wonder and fear in his voice.

"Yup." Yoh responded cheerfully, and then gave Ryu a careful look. "You're not thinking of going after her, are you?"

"Are you kidding me?" Ryu squeaked. "I think she'd carve my nuts off if I tried."

"I don't think she'd go that far, but she's naturally very suspicious of people, so it wouldn't go over well."

"Guess that's why she doesn't want people in her room either. Did you see the locks she had on her door? Talk about paranoid."

Yoh pursed his lips. "I don't think it's so much paranoid as much as a need for a space that's only hers, that no one else can touch." He hypothesized. "It's her safe place, and the only way it can stay safe is if no one else has access to it."

"I suppose that makes sense." Ryu paused. "What do you think she does in there?"

"Draws, paints or reads." Yoh answered confidently. At Ryu's surprised look he grinned. "You should ask my mom to show you the painting hung up in her room, it's apparently very beautiful. You could be considered a thug too Ryu, and you have depth to you, so why not her?"

Ryu gave him a sheepish grin. "You're right Chief, you're always right."

"Not always." Yoh disagreed. He checked the state of the stir fry he was allowing to simmer a little. "Looks like dinner is about ready, why don't you get the table set?" In about five minutes everything was ready and everyone was sitting down.

"Take off your gloves you uncivilized freak!" Anna spat as Tari gracelessly plonked down at the table.

"Anna..." Keiko warned. "Tari does not have to take off her gloves and you are well aware now why she does not, so do not press the issue. Also, I would think that you would be a little more receptive towards Tari's uniqueness, knowing your own past."

Anna merely snorted. "Perhaps that's why she doesn't like me." Tari growled. "She doesn't like being reminded of her past freakiness."

"How dare you!" Anna screeched. Tari folded her arms and stared her down once more.

"You push me, I'm going to push back, and I can see the moment I back down you'll walk all over me like you walk all over these boys. I will not allow that to happen." She stated. "I did not submit to the gangs who tried to force me into their ranks, I will not submit to you."

Anna opened her mouth again. "Anna, that's enough." Keiko said sharply. "If you can't find it in yourself to be civil, you can leave."

"Me?" Anna demanded, aghast. "What about her?"

"She only spoke out when you baited her, and while I'd rather she rein in her temper, I can understand why she feels the need to assert herself against you." Keiko told her. "You have a habit of subverting others to your will by acts of intimidation. She's obviously seen that and is taking measures to discourage you from trying too hard."

"That, and I don't like her." Tari mumbled just loud enough for them all to hear. She gave Keiko's look a rebellious glare in return. Keiko sighed, seeing that she was not going to get anywhere. Yoh decided it was time to steer the conversation in a new direction. He started chattering away, and the incident was momentarily forgotten.

%&%&%&%

Though he was back in his own bed Yoh found himself having trouble falling asleep that night. After a little while of tossing and turning he decided to go up to the room to engage in one of his favourite soothing pastimes; star-gazing. When he got there, it was apparent he wasn't the only one with the same idea.

"Hi, Tari." Tari jerked at his voice, turning around quickly, her eyes wide and startled. It was then that Yoh realized she was only wearing a tank top and a pair of what looked like boxer shorts. The full moon threw the scars adorning her body into sharp relief.

Yoh stood transfixed for a moment and then smiled, padding over and sitting down on the edge of the roof with her, staying out of arm's reach, for her sake. "So the covering of your skin isn't just to reduce the risk of accidently being touched?" Tari nodded her head.

Yoh inspected the scars, seeing their artistic flair despite the brutal quality of them. "Did you do those yourself?" Tari stared at him a moment before a slow smile crept across her face.

"You're a clever kid. If I had my gloves on I think I'd ruffle your hair." She said with some amusement. "Most of them, yes, except for the burns, those were Hotaru."

"I can see why you'd get out of that environment then." Yoh commented. "They're kind of pretty, if you ignore the fact that they're carved into your skin. Then again tattoos can be viewed as kind of the same thing."

Tari eyed him with an expression of bemusement. "You're an odd kid, but I like the way you think." She informed them. "Unfortunately most people will see these and immediately try to get me committed."

"There's no fresh ones." Yoh said with a shrug. "It's not the best way to deal with emotional pain, but it's not the worst I've ever seen."

"You're talking about that brother of yours." Tari guessed.

"Yeah, I know most people don't see it that way, but hate is usually a way to cover up the pain that you feel." Yoh explained. He looked up at the sky. "The stars are nice up here, what little you can see, anyways."

"Couldn't see any in downtown." Tari shrugged. "The fact that I can see any at all is a perk in my books."

"I guess so." Yoh sighed and stood up. "I should get to sleep, I'm up pretty early. Goodnight Tari."

"Goodnight Yoh."

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Star: Review plz!


	11. Chapter 11

Star: I own nothing!

Things settled into a fairly familiar routine over the next few weeks. The only difference was Tari, and the occasional butting of heads that occurred when Anna felt she could try and order Tari around. The problem with Anna was she did not know how to ask nicely, instead she barked her orders like a drill sergeant. So she'd snap at Tari to do something and the older girl would just flat out ignore her, but if Keiko asked her to do the same thing, Tari would snap to it. It was kind of funny, really.

Everyone else had gotten used to her presence, though not the fact that she could move with total silence and managed to scare the living daylights out of anyone who hadn't seen her enter a room. She wasn't real friendly with any of them, so the guys kind of ignored her for the most part, or actively tried to stay out of her way. Yoh thought that they'd like her more if she was a little more social, but there was no point trying to force the issue.

The only people Tari was real friendly with were him, his mother, and more recently, his father. She had been quite wary of Mikihisa for awhile, but his somewhat boyish, puppyish attitude he had when not dealing with serious situations slowly wore her distrust away. Tari was a lover of stories and Mikihisa loved to spin a tail and they would spend much time in the garden, chatting away about myths and legends of magic and heroes.

Imari and Shigaraki had decided that they liked Tari and divided their time between Mikihisa and Tari. It wasn't uncommon to find Tari sitting somewhere, leaning up against one of them and petting the other while reading a book. Tari was a little more relaxed around them too, a little more prone to smile.

Tari had eventually told Yoh about Hotaru's abuse and what had subsequently driven her to run away. Knowing that helped Yoh understand why she shied somewhat away from the older men in the group with barely disguised suspicion and had taken so long to trust Mikihisa enough to be alone with him.

Having Tari come to trust and care about them brought out an interesting new personality trait; protectiveness. Keiko had finally been forced to admit Tari was there to her father after Anna had complained to him. When Tari could see that Keiko was getting upset by her father yelling through the phone at her, she'd simply taken the phone away, told him to go to hell, and hung up. When he'd tried to call back and Keiko was still in tears, she'd disconnected the phone.

And if Tari was around any time Anna was ripping into Yoh for something she felt was not his fault, or worse if she tried to slap him, she'd be up in her face faster than any of them could blink. Anna would screech and threaten, but nothing would move the imposing eighteen year old from her spot and finally Anna would have to be forced to admit defeat. Yoh thought she might have been scared of what Tari might do if she tried to strike her.

Still, things were good, Tari was settling into home life and having a lot more people around, and Yoh was starting to relax. He'd half-expected Hao just to come blasting in, looking for revenge on him for stopping him from taking the Great Spirit, but as the days went on he began to think they were safe. That would prove to be his mistake.

%&%&%&%

Hao lounged lightly outside the grocery store he'd seen his brother go into. "Why do we not just go to the inn?" Luchist asked, standing beside him. Only he and Opacho had accompanied him while he recovered from his wounds and came here.

"They'll have alarm spells all over that place, knowing Anna. They'll know we're coming and we'll be pushed back." Hao sighed. "Here I can speak to Yoh alone and ensure that we are welcomed into his home."

"Why not just simply kill him?"

"Even if I cannot bind his soul to mine, I can still try and subvert him to my will. If that does not work, I can feed his soul to the Spirit of Fire. Besides," He said with a malicious smirk. "Staying there, and doing nothing to hurt him or his little pack of idiots will make them dizzy with fear. It will be vengeance enough to watch them squirm."

Luchist nodded and Opacho giggled with all the innocence of a child, happy to see Hao in such a good mood. It had taken him many weeks to earn her trust again and he constantly cursed himself for losing his temper at her. He turned his attention back to waiting for Yoh to emerge, ignoring the humans that walked by them.

Finally Yoh emerged, laden down with several bags of groceries. He saw them almost immediately and halted, blinking in confusion. Hao smirked and smoothly stood up, sauntering over to his bewildered twin.

"Long time no see Yoh." He said. Yoh pursed his lips, staring Hao in the eye.

"What do you want?" Yoh asked suspiciously, though politely.

"First thing I think I want is a place for us to stay." Hao said pleasantly. "Now where do you think we could find a place for us?"

"You want to come into my home?" Yoh said incredulously. "Why would I allow that?"

"Because I've decided to take the more diplomatic route first." Hao said, his voice taking on a more dangerous tone. "The other option is marching my way in there and taking the inn by force. Wouldn't you rather prevent more bloodshed? Or have you finally abandoned your foolish pacifistic tendencies."

Yoh bit at his lip, frowning slightly as he thought, weighing his options. "Since the only other option is having you come in and kill people, I guess I'll have to take you up on your request." He finally sighed in a resigned tone. "Don't expect a warm welcome though."

Hao merely snorted in contempt at the statement. Yoh gave him a slightly reproachful look but headed off towards the inn, glancing back to make sure Hao, Opacho and Luchist were following. Hao smirked to himself, it had been child's play to get Yoh to agree to his terms, and now the fun would just be beginning.

Yoh didn't speak to them through the walk, but politely held the door open for all of them when they got to the inn. "Yoh?" A female voice called from somewhere in the house. Hao was mildly surprised when Keiko emerged into the front hallway. She stopped, staring at him wide-eyed a moment before regaining her composure. "We're going to be late if you don't hurry. Go get changed!" She told Yoh.

Yoh nodded and gratefully handed over his groceries to her. She smiled and went to put them away while Yoh ran up the stairs. Hao moved further into the house, into the living room. "I suppose we need to set up rooms for you to stay?" He turned and looked at Keiko, who was dressed in a lovely black knee-length dress with half-sleeves.

"I'm sure it will be taken care of." Hao replied. "You look lovely." There was no point in being impolite, and it tended to scare people more when he was pleasant rather than nasty. Keiko didn't seem unnerved though, she just shyly smiled, reminded Hao a little of Yoh.

"Whose bright idea was this again?" An unfamiliar low growl of a voice asked. Hao looked up at one of the oddest looking young women he'd ever seen in his life. She was taller than any woman he remembered, her skin a rich creamy coffee colour. The neat black slacks, black pinstriped vest, white long-sleeved silk shirt and white silk gloves were at odds with the black Mohawk pulled forward over her forehead in soft waves. She looked like a thug about to go to an opera, but she looked elegant anyways.

"Oh Tari, you look lovely." Keiko cooed. The girl, Tari, let out a derisive snort, but Hao saw her adjust one of the gloves fastidiously. She looked up then, straight into his eyes. Hao found himself looking into exotic almond-shaped golden eyes that immediately began sizing him up, as though she were thinking of whether or not she should fight him.

Hao had no idea what a human was doing in Yoh's house, but her presence would only serve to make his twin more agitated about Hao's presence there, so he decided he was going to ignore her for the time being. Tari however seemed to have other ideas. She marched right up to him, ignoring Keiko's suggestion that she not and got right up in Hao's face.

"I know who you are." She whispered in a growl. "And I'm going to tell you right now that I don't care what sort of powers you possess, if you hurt the people I care about here, I will hunt you down and make sure you hurt."

There was something absolutely menacing about the way she said those words so flatly. Looking into her eyes was like looking into the eyes of some wild predator, like a wolf, and wondering if you were going to be its next meal. Hao didn't get a chance to answer as she turned away from him in complete distain and allowed Keiko to put an arm around her and whisper frantically in her ear.

"Is everything alright?" Yoh asked, coming down in a tailored suit. Hao had to admit the suit gave his normally goofy-looking twin an air of sophistication.

"It's fine kiddo." Tari assured him with a slight smile. Yoh smiled uncertainly back and turned to Hao.

"The guys are setting up rooms for you upstairs." He said.

"Oops, come on, time to go." Keiko said, ushering the two teenagers out the door. Tari gave Hao one last warning look before they left. Maybe this stay would be more interesting than he'd anticipated.


	12. Chapter 12

Star: I own nothing!

Hao stood on the roof, waiting for the few stars whose light could shine through the light pollution of the city to appear in the rapidly darkening sky. The evening had been quite satisfactory, all of Yoh's little friends were quite upset to see him and he'd obviously thrown a wrench into their happy little lives. It was even more entertaining at dinner when none of them could figure out if they should still be talking or not with him around.

Yoh, Keiko, and the girl, Tari, had not come back yet. He'd heard through eavesdropping that they had gone to the Phantom of the Opera production in downtown. From what he'd seen of Tari, he thought such culture would be wasted on someone like her; everything about her just screamed 'thug'.

The one thing that had impressed him about her was her bravado. She'd know he could kill her without lifting a finger, but she'd seen fit to threaten his life anyways. She was either very brave, very stupid, or very misinformed. He was leaning towards misinformed, as her eyes had held a steely gleam of intelligence.

His ears perked at the sound of an engine. A small car parked in front of the house and Keiko, Yoh and Tari stepped out of it. Hao dropped from the roof silently and stole up to them. "Have a good evening?" He asked pleasantly. He was gratified to see them jump, but did not expect Tari to whirl and a six inch blade thrust in her face.

His heart skipped a beat, but he smiled coolly and tapped the switchblade. "You always did keep... interesting company, didn't you Yoh?" He said mockingly. Tari's feral eyes gleamed in the half-light as she gazed at him. She then put away her blade and stepped back a little, though her posture did not relax.

"To answer your first question, we had a good time." Yoh said calmly, though he put a steadying hand on Tari's arm.

"Even Tari?" Hao said, raising an eyebrow. Tari bristled, her lips curling back in a snarl as she stared down at him disdainfully.

"Just because it looks like I enjoy splitting open skulls for a living doesn't mean I don't understand culture." She growled. "One must cultivate a certain intimidation factor when one lives on the streets in the middle of gang territory." She gave him another scornful look. "From what I've heard of you, you take only your first impressions and never delve deeper into peoples' personalities. Such ignorance is unbecoming of someone who's supposed to be as brilliant-minded as you."

Ouch. It seemed her knife wasn't the only cutting thing about her. Her words had stung and he felt his anger at being slandered rising. He quickly pushed it down, knowing it was only because it was a filthy human saying such things that made him angry. It burned him to know that if he even tried to kill her now, he would be driven out, and that didn't work with his plans at all.

Tari brushed past him, her eyes still smouldering with anger as she stalked into the house like some massive wolf. Yoh sighed and shook his head. "You shouldn't pass judgement on people until you know who they truly are." He told Hao. "Tari's had a bad past, but she's an intelligent and interesting person, although you'll never find that out yourself, seeing as she's only human."

Yoh and his mother edged past Hao into the house. Hao growled in irritation, disliking his brother's casual dismissal. He reined his temper in, knowing full well the kinds of things that could happen if he lost it, and pasted his usual smirk back on his face before heading inside.

"-couldn't do Christine." Tari's growl of a voice reached his ears as he stepped inside. He looked in the living room, finding Tari and Yoh in there, Tari sitting on the arm of the couch, contemplating a CD she held in her hands. "I'd probably be good as the Phantom."

"Tari!" Yoh said in a shocked voice. Tari laughed, a deep, rusty chuckle in the back of her throat.

"Not for the reasons you're thinking." She told him. "I've got the voice for it, I think."

"Can you sing?" Yoh asked.

"Some." Tari said dismissively.

"Can I hear you?" There was silence for a moment and then Tari's voice rang out, quiet, but clear

Heaven's gates won't open up for me  
>With these broken wings I'm fallin'<br>And all I see is you  
>These city walls ain't got no love for me<br>I'm on the ledge of the eighteenth story  
>And oh I scream for you<br>Come please I'm callin'  
>And all I need from you<br>Hurry I'm fallin', I'm fallin'

Show me what it's like  
>To be the last one standing<br>And teach me wrong from right  
>And I'll show you what I can be<br>Say it for me  
>Say it to me<br>And I'll leave this life behind me  
>Say it if it's worth saving me<p>

Her singing voice was a low, husky croon with a bit of a growl to it. It was a voice that would not have been out of place in a rock-and-roll band, or for a country singer. It wasn't an awe-inspiring voice, but she could sing, and sing well.

"That's a sad sounding song." Yoh commented. "It kind of reminds me of you."

"Reminds me of me too." Tari replied. "Guess that's why I always liked it so much." She ruffled his hair fondly. "I'm gonna get out of this get-up. As nice as it makes me look, it's not me, you know?"

"Yeah. I like your leather jacket better." Yoh said. Tari flashed him a brief smile that seemed to light her face up from within, turning it from something intimidating into something friendly, if only for an instant. She walked out of the room, no, stalked. Yoh sighed. "I think you'd really like her Hao." He said, startling Hao into jumping a little. How did Yoh know he was there?

He stepped out, giving Yoh an indifferent look. "She's a human, there's nothing to like about her." He retorted.

"You sound very human when you say such bigoted things, isn't that what you're trying to avoid?" Yoh asked, infuriatingly reasonable sounding. "Or is it simply the damage to nature you want to stop, and not the damage to each other, because heaven knows it's alright to hurt each other, just don't hurt nature." Yoh finished, sounding sarcastic. Hao felt his features flicker with surprise before schooling it to mild interest again.

"You seem rather annoyed." He said, annoyingly calm even to his own ears.

"You preach that humans are violent, bloodthirsty creatures, but you allow, and you do the same kind of violence as they do. How are you any different than them?" Yoh demanded. Hao stared at him, facial muscles twitching as he fought the urge to snarl at his twin. Instead he smirked at him and patted his head as though Yoh were some small child.

"It entertains me when you try to be smart." He said condescendingly. The hurt that flashed through Yoh's eyes was unexpected. "It's good that you're trying though, I expect great things from my other half."

"If I was truly your other half, I wouldn't have been able to resist being absorbed by you." Yoh said bravely, though he looked troubled. "I should probably get changed before I do something stupid and mess up this suit." Yoh sighed, looking down at himself. "Just, a couple more things about Tari, rules you should know."

"Why would I need rules for dealing with her?" Hao asked snidely.

"Trust me on this, you'll want to follow them." Yoh said. "Biggest one is don't touch her, she's got a real aversion to being touched."

"Why?"

"I cannot say." Yoh said, shaking his head. "It's not my place to tell. The other two will get your ass kicked too, but not as badly, and they are don't touch her stuff and don't go in her room."

"Seems like she has something to hide to me." Hao said.

"Everyone does, don't they?" Yoh asked. "I know her reasons for each and I respect them. If you want a reason, you'd have to ask her. I don't guarantee she'll answer though, she doesn't trust people very easily and I doubt she feels like she would be able to trust you."

"And so she shouldn't." Hao agreed. His curiosity had been piqued, however, though he worked not to show it. It would not do to show he had some positive feelings about a human. Yoh gave him a mildly amused look.

"You know Hao, you're not as good at hiding your emotions as you think." Before Hao had a chance to argue this point Yoh was gone, leaving him frustrated and a little apprehensive.

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Star: Review plz!


	13. Chapter 13

Star: I own nothing but Tari and this crazy plot.

Yoh got out of his formal clothes and into a t-shirt and sweatpants; it would only be few hours before bed, so it was alright to be a little sloppy. Tari had holed herself up in her room and was already making good use of the Phantom of the Opera CD Keiko had gotten her, despite protests. Yoh smiled to himself; Tari's continued surprise that someone else would do something nice for her was bittersweet.

He found Ren, Horohoro and Ryu in Ren's room, whispering conspiratorially. "Hey guys, what's going on?" Yoh asked, wandering in.

"It's about Hao." Horohoro replied quietly. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"I don't know, but it worries me less than knowing he's just somewhere out there, waiting to strike." Yoh replied.

"Speak for yourself." Ryu said with a shudder. "I'm glad now that Lyserg isn't here, the poor kid having to deal with his sworn enemy in the house..." Ryu continued along this tangent as Ren turned his attention to Yoh.

"Bet you're worried about Tari though." He commented. Yoh gave a half-grin.

"Actually, she's threatened him twice already and he hasn't done anything." He informed him.

"What? Does she have a death-wish?" Ren said in surprise.

"No, apparently the first time was just to warn him not to hurt whoever she cared about here." Yoh said, shaking his head. "I think she feels if she shows him she's not afraid of him, he'll keep away from her, at least for a little while. Probably used the same sort of techniques on the street."

"What about the second time?" Ren asked.

"She pulled a knife on him when he managed to sneak up behind her." Ren considered this silently; he'd gotten six inches of steel in his face himself after padding up behind Tari when she wasn't paying attention.

"You know, one of these days she's going to cut someone's nose off." Horohoro commented. "Hopefully it's Hao's."

"Okay, I am a little worried about her, but Imari and Shigaraki have been keeping an eye on her more often, so they'll be able to help her out if she gets in trouble." Yoh explained. "Me and dad will be keeping an eye on things too, and if you guys don't mind...?"

"She's brave, I'll give her that." Ren conceded reluctantly. "I guess I could help."

"She's a scary, scary girl, but you care about her, so yeah, I'll help too." Horohoro said, shaking his head. Ryu shrugged and nodded in agreement.

"I'm not asking you to monitor her or be bodyguards, just if it looks like she's going to get in trouble with him or Luchist, help her out." They all nodded. "Thanks guys."

%&%&%&%&%

Yoh and Tari were on breakfast duty the next morning and so were up at the same time. "Can you do something for me Tari?" Yoh asked as they worked on making breakfast.

"What's that Yoh?" Tari asked.

"Can you try not to antagonise Hao while he's here?" Yoh pleaded. "I don't want to see you get hurt." Tari's eyes softened and she ruffled his hair in that way she did. When Hao did it, it felt condescending, when Tari did it, it felt comforting.

"I won't promise not to get into it with him if I think he's being an asshole, but I won't go out of my way to piss him off." She told him.

"I guess that's probably the best I can hope for." Yoh said, knowing Tari spoke her mind even if it would cause trouble. "Just be careful, okay?" She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gave him a brief squeeze.

"I'll try." She promised with a faint smile. A little while later found them seated at the table for breakfast with everyone. Instead of the usual loud chaos that meals were, it was subdued, thanks to Hao, Luchist and Opacho's presence. By some strange twist Tari had managed to be seated right next to Opacho, who kept glancing up at the young woman like she feared being eaten or something.

"You're scary." She finally stated, breaking the oppressive silence. Tari's head turned slowly and she regarded Opacho calmly.

"I'm only scary-looking." She replied, her voice soft and kind. It seemed she had a soft spots for kids.

"Why?" Opacho asked innocently.

"Because people who want to hurt me will think twice if I look like someone they don't want to mess with, and that way I don't necessarily have to hurt them to keep them from hurting me." Tari explained slowly.

"Oh, okay." Opacho said. "But why you look scary here?"

"I've been dressing like this for so long, it's become a part of me." Tari explained, rearranging the collar of her leather jacket. "It feels alien to me to wear something else."

"Do you kill people?" Opacho asked. Tari blinked slightly at that. "Hao-sama says humans are violent and kill without being sad about it."

It was then that Yoh realized that Hao had put Opacho up to talking to Tari, in order to try and trip her up. Tari, however, seemed to realize this, and lifted her head to stare at Hao for a long moment, challengingly.

"If I was to kill someone, it would only be to prevent myself, or someone I care about from being hurt or killed." Tari replied. "I'm no murderer." She said these last words staring directly at Hao. Hao stared back evenly, though Yoh sensed he was irritated. "I'm not sure the same can be said for your 'Hao-sama'."

Opacho looked up at Hao nervously. "It's okay Opacho." He said, but said no more. Yoh thought that Tari had either impressed him, or he hadn't thought she'd manage to come back with something so quickly. Anna glared at the older girl's gloves; it had become something of a pet peeve of hers that Tari refused to remove them, even in polite company.

The phone rang, shattering the awkward silence. Yoh sighed and got up, heading for the phone. Everyone sat, just watching him. He answered it and immediately they could hear the faint sound of yelling from the phone.

Yoh listened, looking increasingly upset and bewildered. He tried a couple times to say something, but was obviously cut off. Hao watched this tableau for a moment and then looked over at Tari, who was staring at Yoh, focused solely on him and the phone in his hand. She looked rather like a dog who either smelled or heard something interesting.

The yelling grew louder and Yoh began to look very distressed. Tari slowly stood up and walked over, silent as a shadow. She stood by Yoh for a moment, head cocked to one side as though she could hear exactly what was being said. She probably could, conceded Hao, the yelling was quite loud.

After a moment or two, Tari slowly reached down and calmly disconnected the phone cord. Yoh stared blankly at the now silent phone for a second before looking up at Tari, whose golden eyes looked melted and soft. He then moved and quickly wrapped his arms around Tari's waist and buried his face in her chest, right below her, admitted small, but still noticeable, breasts.

Tari looked startled for a second, and one hand drew back, balling into a fist for a half a second before she dropped it and patted Yoh's head awkwardly. She seemed to have no idea what she was supposed to do, so she just stood there. Slowly she put her arms around his shoulders and embraced him back, her face softening again.

"Sorry." Yoh mumbled, pulling away from her.

"It's alright kiddo. Just," Tari smiled slightly. "Try to warn me next time you want a hug so I don't go to throw you through a wall or something."

"I'll try." Yoh said with a laugh. "Could you really actually throw me through a wall?" He asked curiously. Tari looked around and absentmindedly scratched Imari's ears as he leaned against her side.

"Maybe, it's all wood in here. If I throw you against a weak spot, could probably break the wall." She said ponderously. "I've got a good throwing arm."

"I'll bet." Yoh replied. He rubbed at his face discreetly, possibly wiping away tears. "Thanks Tari."

"No problem, kid." She shrugged carelessly. She silently stalked out of the room, Imari and Shigaraki trailing after her. Hao watched them go with an interested look on his face.

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Star: Review plz!


	14. Chapter 14

Star: I own nothing!

Yoh had returned from his morning 'run from hell' and was waiting for the shower to be free for him to get clean and cool down. The bathroom happened to be almost directly across from Tari's room and he stared at the closed and locked door. It could be locked from the inside, and the outside, a testament to Tari's ongoing paranoia about having some place that was hers and hers alone.

She was in there right now, the strains of Bach drifting out from the sides and bottom of the closed door. For someone who looked like she should have been a fan of heavy metal and hard rock, Tari preferred classical music to most. She had modern songs she liked of course, but when she was working on her art, she preferred the classical, instrumental music.

"Interesting that she keeps her door locked like that." Hao's voice said idly. Yoh jumped; he disliked that Hao seemed to be able to move without sound. Tari could do it too, but it wasn't nearly as creepy. "She's either neurotically paranoid, or has something to hide." He added.

"She has her reasons, I understand them." Yoh replied. "She's not neurotic, she just..." He debated on how much he should reveal. "She needs somewhere that's just her space, no one else can touch her in there, and she can feel safe."

"And what exactly happened that she would need to lock herself in and other people out in order to feel safe?" Hao asked sceptically.

"I keep telling you, I can't say. It's not my place to say. If you want answers, you'd have ask her, but, especially after breakfast's little stunt, I doubt she'll be in a sharing mood." Yoh said with a stern look at Hao. "And don't go pestering her about it either, you'll just get her mad."

"And why should I care if I get her mad?" Hao demanded. Yoh gave him an oddly cold look.

"This is my house, I'm in charge. If I think you're causing too much trouble, I'll have you tossed out, and damn the consequences."

"Well," Hao said, mockingly impressed. "It seems that you've finally grown something of a backbone, dear brother."

Yoh felt his face flush with humiliation at Hao's tone. "What, and going up against you when you had the power of the Great Spirit didn't require some backbone?" He demanded. Hao gave him a condescending smirk.

"That was mere stupidity." He informed Yoh. Yoh hated the way Hao could do this, get him angry, crash through his normally even temper and make him feel like screaming. He mentally took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

"You only see what you want to see Hao, that's a pretty narrow and ignorant view of the world." He said to his brother. Hao's lip twitched downward slightly, but the bathroom door opened and Yoh slipped inside as Horohoro exited, probably leaving Hao a little angry.

%&%&%&%

Hao wandered through the house. Yoh had annoyed him sufficiently enough to make him feel frustrated. Why didn't Yoh see the world the way he did? They were the same person after all. But, Hao was starting to have his doubts about that.

It was early in the afternoon and Yoh and his gang of idiots were all doing some form of chores or training. It was interesting that Anna didn't order Tari around, even after she'd emerged from her room, but then Hao had spotted the cold, dead stare Tari had given Anna when she'd spotted the older girl and opened her mouth. Hao was mildly impressed; a human that could stand up to Anna was very interesting indeed.

Opacho was napping and Luchist had gone for a walk, so he had none of his people, with his view of the world to talk to. The only one in fact that probably would have talked to him cordially in the house was Yoh, and Hao was already frustrated by him. So, he was alone with his own thoughts.

He was used to that, being alone. He had been for most of his life. He should have accepted it by now but some part of him still craved the company of other humans. That was part of the reason he surrounded himself with his loyal followers. Even then, he was alone in a crowd, on the outside, looking in. They didn't treat him as an equal, they treated him as a kind of god, placing him on a lonely pedestal.

He shook the thought out of his head, no point in dwelling on that which he couldn't change. He didn't need anyone else to feel happy, once he finally achieved his rightful place as King, he would be happy. A small, very quiet part of him told him that he was lying to himself, but he ignored it. He was good at ignoring things he didn't feel were significant.

He decided to go out to the backyard. There was a Sakura tree in the backyard, and it was in bloom. There was always something calming about gazing at the pale pink flowers of the Sakura tree, and some tranquility sounded good right about now.

He opened the door to the backyard and then stopped, gazing unhappily at the tall, Mohawk-topped shape already sitting under the tree. Tari, again. It seemed he wasn't able to get anywhere in this house without tripping over her. It annoyed him that Yoh had taken an interest in a thug, though he had to admit she was smarter than the average 'street rat'.

He decided he would still go out there. He could ask questions after all. He would either get answers, or incite her into doing something stupid. He'd love to be able to prove to Yoh that humans were as bad as he knew they were, and doing it with one that Yoh seemed enamoured with would make it all the sweeter.

He walked up silently, or so he thought. Her head lifted at his approach and her eyes narrowed. He couldn't shake the feeling that she was sizing him up, like a lioness contemplating her prey. He saw that she had a large sketch pad resting on her knees and a charcoal pencil in one gloved hand.

"Not even going to take your gloves off to draw, are you?" Hao asked. "The locks on your doors, the 'no touching' rule… I wonder if you should be committed."

"So have many." Tari muttered, turning back to her page.

"And they didn't put you away?" Hao asked, trying to goad her.

"I was under the impression that most were too scared to try." Tari replied with a humourless, brief smile.

"It seems like a lot of effort, doesn't it? Just to satisfy your paranoia?" Hao wheedled, trying to draw her out. She turned her head and gave him a cool look.

"You're trying to make me angry, I can tell, trying to make me do something to prove your view on humanity." She said softly. "Psychological trickery does not work on me, Hao Asakura, it may have worked on me as a child, but I grew up, I learned to see the manipulations for what they were and I learned to know myself."

"And what do you know about yourself?" Hao demanded, hoping for something at least.

"I know that I do not trust easily, I know that I am protective, I know that I will never stand to see a child suffer, and I know now that I am different, not a freak."

"A freak?" Hao perked up; what could that mean? A memory intruded. "Does this 'difference' have anything to do with the fact that you are no shaman and yet seem to be able to touch spirits."

"Perhaps." Tari said simply, smudging a line on the page with her finger. Hao waited, but she said no more. Hao repressed the urge to growl in frustration. He sat silently instead; there was some other memory still niggling at him, something Yoh had asked him a few weeks back. He sat absolutely still, determined not to allow the memory to slip away. He finally got a hold of it.

"It was you that Yoh was talking about, wasn't it? The one who could see death when she touched people!" He said triumphantly.

"Would you like a treat for being so clever?" Tari said, her voice a sarcastic bite. "Well done, well done."

"Don't take that tone with me." Hao snarled, dropping his air of mild interest.

"Oh? You can dish it but you can't take it, can you?" Tari snapped.

"What the hell does that mean?" Hao demanded angrily.

"I've heard the way you speak to Yoh, like he's a tad slow in the head, and I don't like it." Tari growled. "Thought I'd give you a taste of your own medicine."

"He is an idiot." Hao snapped back.

"He's an intelligent young man, easily distracted, but a quick mind nonetheless." Tari replied. "But you don't want to think of him as important, do you? You treat him like he's slow so you don't have to consider him an equal, because then you might have to actually listen to what he has to say."

"Why the hell do you care so much? He's not related to you, you've only known him for a couple weeks." Hao demanded.

"He, Keiko and Mikihisa are the closest thing I've ever had to a family." Hao stared at her, unsure of what to do with this new piece of information. He knew what it was like to grow up with a family and he felt, to his infinite disgust, a twinge of sympathy. "I don't like people who make other people feel smaller than them. It scars the soul. But, you don't care about that, do you? You don't care about anyone else but yourself." She closed her sketchpad and stalked off, giving Hao another contemptuous glance as she did so.

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Star: Review plz!


	15. Chapter 15

Star: I own nothing!

"I really wish you wouldn't antagonise Hao like that." Yoh sighed as he and Tari wandered through the grocery store.

"I can't help myself, he pisses me off." Tari replied calmly. "I can't stand that know-it-all attitude and the way he thinks he's so much better than everyone else. Makes me want to smack that smirk right off his face." She smiled lightly at Yoh's horrified look. "I won't do it, I've got more control than that."

"Still..." Yoh persisted, searching for the biggest and nicest looking oranges. "I wish you'd control your responses to him just a little bit more. You're making him angry, and I worry that he may lash out and hurt you."

"Like I said, I can't help myself." Tari repeated. "I try, but you know what pisses me off the most about him?"

"What?"

"He hurts you." Yoh paused and looked up at Tari in surprise. "I don't much care that he doesn't like me and says nasty stuff about me, I'm used to that, I can ignore it. But the fact that what he says hurts you makes me mad, and I can't stop myself from trying to hurt him back, or at least make him look stupid in revenge."

"You don't have to do that." Yoh said, shaking his head. He was happy that Tari cared so much, but she could make Hao snap and go on a killing spree. The last time Hao had lost his temper, they almost all wound up dead. "You don't have to protect me."

"You and Keiko are the first people I've ever wanted to protect." Tari admitted softly. Yoh stopped again, this time in the act of placing a bag of rice in the basket he carried and just stared at Tari. His heart clenched at the thought of Tari, unloved and loving no one for most of her life, and then finding people who cared about her, despite the fact that she was different. It was no wonder she wanted to protect him so much, she was afraid to lose what she had finally found; a family.

He dropped the rice into his basket and used his free hand to hug her around the waist. She ruffled his hair reassuringly. "I want to protect you too." Yoh admitted gently. "We can protect each other, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan." Tari agreed, her faint smile appearing for a second and then disappearing. The two of them finished up their shopping in companionable silence.

%&%&%&%

Hao ground his teeth together, sitting up to his neck in the waters of the hot spring. He'd gone in to relax, but all he could think about was Tari's mocking. He inhaled deeply, trying once again to calm himself; things hadn't gone well for him the last time he'd allowed his anger to take over. He gritted his teeth again and slammed his hand down on the stone floor.

"Damn her." He growled. "Where does she get off, acting like I'm the scum of the earth? She's probably a druggie, or a dealer. It'll be better when the world is rid of scum like her."

Hao sighed and ran a hand through his long hair and reluctantly got out of the hot water. He dried himself off and got dressed. Before the tournament he would have just wandered out in a towel, but not now; not with a large scar running from his collarbone to his navel. It was Yoh's doing, and he was vain enough to not want proof of his defeat to be seen.

He marched out of the onsen, rubbing the towel through his hair. The only thing that annoyed him about it was the amount of care it sometimes required. It was a small price to pay though for the regal quality it gave him that distracted others from his apparent youthfulness.

He paused in front of Tari's door, staring at it. A small, childish part of him wanted to kick it, or spit on it, but he resisted the urge. He wanted to do something though, and the cogs worked in his mind until he remembered that Tari was gone to get groceries with Yoh. A malicious grin lit his features; no one to stop him taking a peek inside.

He put his hand on the door and used his power to open the lock without destroying it. He looked around cautiously, and satisfied that he was not going to be seen, slipped into the room. He closed the door behind him and looked around.

The walls were bare except for a calendar and an ornamental fan tacked up. The dresser drawers were open and a t-shirt hung off one of them. A small stereo and an alarm clock sat on top of the dresser, along with several paintbrushes, a couple of pencils, a Swiss army knife and a handful of change.

A small writing table was set up in the middle of the room and covered in various pieces of paper, pencils, pencil crayons, charcoal and a drawing pad. He ignored those for the moment and padded quietly over to the closet, thinking if she was hiding something that would be a good spot to look first.

He opened the closet and pulled aside the clothes, searching around the bottom. He lifted a can of soup, a frown forming on his face. "She's hoarding food." He murmured to himself. "She fears not having enough?" He pondered this, closing the closet door and turning his attention to the bookshelf.

There were a small number of books on the shelves and Hao inspected the titles with interest. There was Shakespeare, Tolkien, Dante, and more. In addition there were several books on mythology of various civilizations. One in particular leapt out at him, the spine bend and the cover tattered with age and use.

He pulled it out and looked at it. It was a book on ancient Egyptian mythology. She could have hidden something in the book, he reasoned. He opened the pages, finding little notes on the sides of the pages where it was obvious Tari had done more research on the subject and wanted to remember it. One thing jumped out at him. On the page talking about Anubis, the name had been circled and, the picture of the jackal-headed god had an arrow pointing to it and the word 'ME?' written beside it.

Hao frowned again. What did that mean? What possible meaning could that one simple word have? Obviously she'd come back to the page a lot, as the corner of the page had been folded down. Anubis was the original Egyptian god of the dead, before he was replaced by Osiris, so perhaps she felt she had some connection to him because of her ability to see death? But why only identify with Anubis then?

He put the book back and stood up. There weren't any other hiding places for drugs or anything else, so he was kind of disappointed. He was more confused about Tari now. She didn't seem to be hiding anything, and her reading material suggested that she was very intelligent. She also seemed to have some strange interest in Anubis. What was with this girl?

Hao shook his head and eyed the table with all the papers on it. He padded over and sat down, bringing the sketch pad to himself. He opened it to the first page and stared. It was a sketch of a person climbing their way out of a deep hole, reaching out towards the light at the distant top, their hands and feet bleeding from the sharp edges of the hole. He could feel the desperation, hope and desire in the simple pencil scrawls.

He turned page after page, becoming enthralled by the drawings in pencil, charcoal, or occasionally pencil crayon. Most of them featured Tari, or at least a woman that looked like Tari. Some were dark and frightening, like the one of her weighed down by chains as she struggled towards an open door shedding light in the dark room, and some were quite beautiful, like the one of her standing in the rain and what looked like tattoos or scars being washed off her skin as she smiled peacefully.

One caught his eye and he stared at it a moment. It was Yoh and his parents, standing in what seemed like a bubble that was filled with light. Yoh was stretching out his hand, his fingers passing through the bubble. Outside the bubble Tari was reaching out her own hand to him as well, though she seemed to be hesitating a little bit, shadowy shapes whispering in her ears, she looked uncertain.

The next picture puzzled him. It was another drawing of Tari, but she was standing in front of a full length mirror, and both her face and her reflection were visible. The reflection however was not human. It was like the picture of Anubis in the book, a humanoid black jackal that stood on two digitigrade legs. The reflection and Tari stared at each other with puzzled expressions.

Hao turned the page and his heart gave a sick lurch. The drawing was obviously of Yoh, visible from the top of his head to his hipbones, naked. There were chains of barbed wire going around his torso, pinning one arm to his side. The barbed wire trailed up his other arm and had his other hand bound clenched down on the blade of a sword. Blood dripped where the barbed wire cut into Yoh's skin.

Hao looked closer and saw the word duty hidden in the blade and that the barbed wire formed the words obligation and fate alternatively. His eyes trailed up and saw that Yoh had his head down, with a gag over his mouth and a blindfold over his eyes. The folds of the gag spelled out destiny. There were dark spots staining the cloth over where Yoh's eyes were and dark tears that looked like trails of blood slid down his cheeks.

It was haunting, painful and for some reason it tore at Hao. He quickly turned the page, and regretted it. This picture was of him. He was standing in the same sort of pose, but his head was being held up and slightly back by a creature behind him who had its hands over his eyes. The creature had multiple faces all twisted in rage and hate.

Another set of hands held Hao's hands clenched around a sword blade held up in front of him. His hands were bleeding profusely. One of the creature's heads was whispering in his ear. His lips were parted slightly in the drawing; he looked almost frightened, or anguished. The picture frightened him for some reason and he turned the page hurriedly.

He had time to register that there were no more drawings before a hand grabbed him by his poncho's collar and _threw_ him out of the room. Hao shook his head dazedly and stared up in shock as Tari advanced on him, eyes glowing with rage.

"How dare you?" She hissed. Her fist pulled back and Hao honestly felt like she was going to kill him. She stopped however in mid-swing, her teeth clenched. Slowly the fist lowered and Tari turned slowly and relocked her door and then stalked off downstairs without a word. Moments later he heard the front door slam.

"You don't know when to leave well enough alone, do you?" Yoh's voice sighed above him. Hao could only stare up at his twin, who was shaking his head. "You need to learn to respect people, Hao. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to find Tari in case she decides to do something dangerous."

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Star: Review plz!


	16. Chapter 16

Star: I own nothing!

Yoh ran out into the street, Imari and Shigaraki galloping after him. "Find her!" He said, hoping they would listen to him. The two spirits cocked their heads and began to sniff at the ground. They took off and Yoh loped after them, stretching into the easy stride of a cross country runner.

Thoughts raced through his mind. Where would Tari go? Would she try and make her way back into the downtown, disappear into the alleys? Would he even be able to convince her back if she had decided that it wasn't safe there anymore? Would she, in her anger, lash out at him?

He pushed the doubts out of his head. Find Tari first, and then worry about all of that. Imari and Shigaraki waited for him at the corner and then took off again, looking back infrequently to make sure Yoh was keeping up. They stopped just short of heading onto a footbridge over a river and Yoh nearly tripped over them.

He halted and panted lightly, catching his breath. Leaning on the railing of the bridge ahead of him, staring down at the water below, was Tari. Yoh gulped and walked over to her, resting his elbows on the railing and waiting. Tari looked up and turned her head to look at him. She smiled slightly.

"Hey kid." She said gently. Yoh nearly melted in relief.

"Thought maybe you'd run-"

"Back to the streets?" Tari asked. Yoh nodded. "Naw, not that dumb. Just needed to get out of there before I did something I would regret." Imari and Shigaraki leaned up against her. "Besides, I'll bet these two would come looking for me and herd me back."

Yoh chuckled. "You might be right about that." He looked up at her. She seemed calm now. "Are you coming back home?"

"Yeah, though I wish you could evict Hao and his, but I know you can't do that." She said, turning to head back to the inn.

"I don't think he'll go back in your room again." Yoh told her, keeping pace with her long strides. "He looked pretty freaked out after you threw him out of there. Man, I didn't think you were that strong!" Tari chuckled agreeably.

"I spent a lot of time building muscle when I started to develop boobs and Hotaru's scummy boyfriends began to hit on me." Tari made a face. "That's also about the time I started getting into 'alternative' hairstyles. Started out with a buzz cut, went completely bald for awhile, and a couple of other styles."

"All meant to intimidate." Yoh guessed. Tari bobbed her head in agreement. "Ever think of going back to a 'normal' hairstyle?"

"Nah, I've stuck with the Mohawk for a couple years because I like the way it looks." Tari replied, running her fingers through the Mohawk. "If I cut it short in a bob style, it gets way too curly, almost like a fro, and when it's long it's just thick and unruly, so I stick with this."

"That makes sense." Yoh said lightly. He turned serious again as they neared the inn. "Are you sure you're okay to go back in there?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay." Tari replied. They headed into the house, where Tari was all but knocked to the ground as Yoh's mother tackle-hugged her, chastising her for scaring her like that. Yoh smiled at the sweet picture the two of them made and wandered off.

%&%&%&%

Hao actually felt bad about sneaking into Tari's room now. He shouldn't have, after all she was just a human, she didn't matter. He was starting to have doubts though that Tari was even human. And even if she was still human, he still felt like he'd crossed a line with her.

He kind of liked her, in an annoyed, I-wish-you-would-stop-bothering-me sort of way. She had proven herself to be intelligent and if her room was any indication she wasn't hiding drugs. She didn't cower away from the power he held, nor did she call him demon. She just was irritated with him over the things he said to her, and bit back when she felt the need to. That kind of courage could be admirable.

"I need to talk to you." The low growl of a voice made him look up from his book. Tari was leaning against his doorway, giving him a look like she wanted to bite him. "Come down to the living room." She didn't even wait for him to answer, she just turned and walked away.

Hao considered not going, after all, who was she to order him around? But, his curiosity was still one of his failings and he was interested in what she might have to say to him, despite himself. He got up and leisurely walked out and down to the living room, where Tari was waiting on the couch. He chose an armchair to sit in and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Keiko seems to think that explaining my need for my room to be my space only would be a good thing in this situation." She began tonelessly. "I doubt it, but I will explain out of respect for her." She stopped talking.

"Well?" Hao asked after a couple minutes of silence. She glared at him.

"This isn't something I talk about." She said tightly. "And certainly not with people I don't trust, so don't rush me." She rubbed her gloved hands together and then looked down at them. Slowly she peeled the gloves off and turned her hands palm up. Hao frowned at the mess of scar tissue on her palms.

"What happened?" He asked. He suddenly had a terrible feeling whatever was coming was not going to be pretty.

"The sorry sac of human waste that called itself my mother did that." Tari said, spitting the words out like poison. Hao stared; his own mother had smacked him when he was bad, but never would she have done something so... mutilating. "She used to stub out her cigarettes on me."

"Why?"

"She hated me." Tari replied tonelessly. "Didn't want me, called me a freak. She couldn't get as much booze and drugs because of me, take your pick, I'm past caring at this point. She abused me, that's all you need to know." She took a deep breath.

"What does this have to do with your room?"

"My room was always the one place I was safe, the one place she in her drunken rages, or hallucinating highs, couldn't get at me. Later on, it was where I was safe from the wandering hands of her various boyfriends. My room is synonymous with safety. As long as I have a space that's mine, and only mine, and only I can access it, I feel safe."

Hao suddenly understood. She'd lived in a place so long where she had been given nothing but pain. The one place she could go that she did not suffer abuse became her haven, a need for her. By invading that space, he might have destroyed that sense of safety that it offered, but it seemed that Tari was stronger than that, though it was still very important to her.

"I... apologize." He said reluctantly, the words leaving a bad taste in his mouth. "If I had known-"

"You shouldn't have needed to." Tari interrupted angrily. "You should have respected my privacy. I haven't gone into your room, rifled through your stuff, have I? I live here, you're a guest, no matter what you feel about me, there are certain courtesies that anyone should adhere to."

Hao hated that he felt like a little boy being chastised for being naughty. Unfortunately for him, she was right. "I apologized, now can we end this conversation?" He snapped.

"So long as you tell me you're not going to go in my room again." Tari replied calmly.

"Isn't that a little like closing the barn door after the horses have escaped? What does it matter, I've already been in there!"

"And I don't want people in there, regardless of whether or not I trust them or if they've already seen the place." Tari growled dangerously. "For a smart man you can be pretty dense. It's not about hiding my stuff, it's about being in a place that only I can get to. You honestly don't understand that?"

He did, he'd just forgotten in annoyance, and now she'd made him look stupid, again. "I will not go in your room again." He said. "I swear it on my mother's name."

Tari snorted. "That doesn't exactly have much meaning for me." She reminded him.

"It does to me." Hao said seriously, meeting her eyes. She stared at him for a long, uncomfortable moment.

"You were close with your mother, weren't you?" She mused finally.

"For what little time I had with her." Hao answered, feeling uncharacteristically talkative. She'd shared something of her past, so he sort of felt obligated to share in return.

"Better a short time with someone who loved you, than a long time with someone who made you feel like you shouldn't even have been born." Tari said quietly. She pulled back on her gloves, Hao catching a glimpse of what looked like more scars on the back of her hands and then padded silently out of the room. Hao realized when she was gone that he still had many questions about her.

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Star: Review plz!


	17. Chapter 17

Star: I own nothing!

Things had settled back down in the Asakura household, which of course meant that something else would come up to shake things up. Yoh was forced to realize this the morning he opened the door and found Marco, the Iron Maiden, and Lyserg standing on his front step.

"Hello, what brings you here?" Yoh asked when his brain processed the fact that yes, he had the X-Laws standing in front of him.

"We need to speak with you and your allies on the possibility that Hao, the evil one, is still alive." Marco stated, brushing by him into the house. The Iron Maiden and Lyserg followed, the latter with a faintly apologetic look at Yoh.

"Well, this is going to be interesting." Yoh murmured to himself, feeling trepidation trail down his spine like icy water. He padded after them, waiting for the fireworks to start. Hao and Luchist were in the living room, so it wouldn't take long. Unfortunately he was right.

Marco stopped dead and stared, blue eyes bulging at the sight of Hao sitting so calmly in the living room. He began to shake with rage. "What is that monster doing here?" He demanded. "Did you let him in?"

"Yes-"

"SINNER!" Marco bellowed before Yoh could explain more. "Fraternizing with devils, consorting with darkness! I should have known that the twin of Hao Asakura would be cut from the same cloth."

Yoh sighed and listened to him rant, waiting for the blond to run out of steam. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Opacho trying to edge into the room around Marco. Unfortunately Marco spotted her and in a fit of rage lifted one foot and cocked it back in a clear intent to kick the tiny girl.

Before anyone could move Marco was slammed into the nearest wall, a hand clamped around his throat. Golden eyes glaring hate at him, Tari bared her teeth as a low growl rumbled in the back of her throat. Everyone froze, waiting.

"I don't like people who try to hurt little kids." She said softly, dangerously. "One warning is all I'll give, you try to hurt her, or anyone else in this house I choose to protect, then you'll deal with me."

"She is one of the evil ones companions!" Marco squeaked breathlessly. "They no friends to a human like you!"

"And that makes it okay to kick an innocent child?" Tari demanded. "She may follow him, but that doesn't make her evil. She is a child, she does not fully understand certain things. If you try to hurt her again, so help me god I will strike you twice as hard as you strike her."

She released him and he sagged a little, gasping for air. She stared at him a moment longer, golden eyes contemptuous and enraged. "You do yourself no favours." The Iron Maiden said in a toneless voice. "He will not spare you for your actions."

Tari turned and looked down at her, face unreadable. "I don't care." She finally said. "Nobody hurts children when I'm around. My reasons for that are my own, but I don't do so to curry favour."

Tari stepped around the Iron Maiden and Lyserg, who was staring at her like she'd sprouted another head. Yoh let out a pent up breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He hadn't even realized Tari was in the room until she had Marco in a chokehold.

All the sudden Opacho grabbed hold of Tari's leg and hugged it. Yoh looked on in amusement as Tari stood there, blinking owlishly at the tiny girl clinging to her. It was clear she had no idea how to react to being hugged by Opacho.

"Thank you, miss Tari." Opacho said in a soft voice. Tari's face relaxed into a slight smile.

"You're welcome." She said gently. "Best go to your Hao-sama, he'll be able to protect you best." Opacho nodded and scampered over to Hao's side. Yoh watched Hao and Tari lock eyes. After a long moment Hao nodded his head once, in apparent approval. Tari nodded as well and stalked out of the room.

"Who in the world was that?" Lyserg asked, wide-eyed.

"That was Tari." Yoh replied. "She lives here."

"Okay, why?"

"She was homeless, couldn't go back to the place she used to call home, and mom wanted to give her a chance to make something of herself instead of dying on the streets." Yoh explained. "She doesn't like being touched, and don't go in her room at all." Yoh didn't mention that Hao had gotten thrown out, quite literally, when he'd snuck in Tari's room. "Are you going to be staying long?" He asked Lyserg.

Lyserg's eyes flicked to Marco and the Iron Maiden, who were having a whispered conversation. "I don't know, depends on what they decide." He replied. Yoh noted unhappily that Lyserg was wearing the uniform of the X-Laws again. Lyserg noticed his stare and his pale face coloured a little.

"We will require rooms." The Iron Maiden suddenly stated. "Far away from the evil one and his fellows."

Yoh nodded his head, stomach twisting slightly. He just knew that eventually he would have a battle on his hands and they would definitely not come out unscathed.

%&%&%&%

Hao snuck out onto the roof, staring with disappointment up at the sky. There were so few stars out here, though it was better than the downtown areas, but he wouldn't be caught dead there. He looked around and realized there was another shape in the darkness, sitting on the edge of the roof.

He moved closer and the figure's head swung around, golden eyes glowing slightly in the darkness. It was Tari, and she was only wearing a wife beater, what the hell was up with that name, and a pair of boxer shorts. She regarded him silently for a moment, her Mohawk flopped over to one side, giving her a lopsided appearance.

"Lovely night." Hao commented. She nodded once. Figuring it was as good an invitation as any, Hao wandered over and sat down, allowing his legs to dangle off the edge of the roof. He looked at her, arms and legs exposed to him for the first time. She was muscular, bulky for a female, but what drew his eyes were the various carved symbols in her skin. "I owe you a thank you." He said slowly, knowing to just jump in and ask about the scars would be unwise. "I would not have been able to get to Opacho before he kicked her."

"Figured as much." Tari replied huskily. "And I appreciate the thanks. I imagine it's not something easy for you to give to a human." She looked over at him, watching him for a second. "Go ahead." She sighed, turning away. "I know what you want to ask."

"Where did you get those scars?" Hao asked, already having something of a theory.

"I did those." Tari said. "Your hatred obviously spiralled outwards, destroying what was against you, mine spiralled inwards, destroying me."

Respectfully, Hao did not touch, though kind of wanted to. "Your mother." He said thoughtfully. "Is this because of her?"

"In part." Tari sighed. "I wanted to be loved by her, so I worked so hard. The stress and the fact that no matter what I did she still hated me caused so much pain, I needed some way to release it." Tari explained. "I used my body as my canvas."

"Seems like a useless venture." Hao commented.

"I might say the same thing about you." Tari replied evenly. "It helped me, the pain went numb for a little while at least."

Hao knew the feeling. He'd killed his mother's killer, and for a little while, the pain stopped. It always came back though, he no longer knew what it was like to live without that mental agony. When humans were gone completely it would no longer hurt, he always told himself. But even he had his doubts.

"Your artwork..." He began, watching her face for a sign of anger. She looked at him, face expressionless. "Why do you draw the things you do?"

"I draw what I see and what I feel." Tari explained. "It's a better release for me."

"You drew one of Yoh, trapped in barbed wire, chained by duty, you could say." He said slowly. "Why?"

"You don't see it, do you?" Tari said tiredly. "You tell him his only destiny is to become one with you again, and his family tells him it's his duty to destroy you. Do you think that he wants this?"

Hao opened, and then closed his mouth. Yoh didn't have it in him to kill, and he was adamant about not being just a part of him. "What's your point?"

"My point is that Yoh's own dreams, his own hopes are being squashed down, he's not being allowed to be, well, Yoh. Do you really think that doesn't hurt him? To know he's nothing but a tool, and that his own plans do not matter?" Tari asked. "His own voice is silenced by his so-called destiny. You, however, are silenced by your hatred, which hurts you just as much in the end."

Hao knew if he tried to argue this they would wind up angry at each other, and he didn't feel like an argument just now. "There was another I noticed in particular, you had yourself looking into a mirror, but something not human looked back. Would you care to explain that one?"

"I do not." Tari said firmly. "A girl's got to have some secrets." She stood up, eying him critically. "I'd keep your little girl close while those three are here, if I was you. Goodnight." And with that she was gone. Frustrated, Hao realized he still had way too many questions.

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Star: Review plz!


	18. Chapter 18

Star: I own nothing!

Breakfast the next morning was even more tense than when Hao had first shown up on their doorstep. Once again having unfortunate timing Tari's place was wedged beside the Iron Maiden. On her other side was Hao, who seemed a lot more respectful of her space now. This was a good thing, otherwise the seating arrangement would be infinitely more awkward.

Unfortunately the Iron Maiden seemed to have decided that Tari needed to be 'saved'. "Why do you wear such dark garments?" She asked. "Black is the colour of darkness."

"Darkness has no colour." Tari replied impatiently. "Darkness is the absence of light, therefore it has no colour." She was being purposely evasive.

"You are in darkness, we can bring you to the light." The Iron Maiden persisted, unaware that Tari was being sarcastic.

"I was already taken out of the darkness." Tari growled warningly. "I do not need to be saved."

"Oh but you do." Lady Jeanne insisted, her eyes wide and earnest. "If you were truly saved, you would not wear such clothes, or cut your hair in such a fashion." Lady Jeanne reached out for her head and Tari caught her wrist in a hard grip.

"I'm sure that Yoh informed you that I do not like to be touched." Tari hissed. "That means do not touch me, ever."

"See, that proves that you have yet to have your eyes opened to the light." Lady Jeanne continued on. "If you were not in darkness you would embrace being touched."

Tari tilted her head and looked at Hao as the Iron Maiden nattered on. "If you killed me right now, I'd have no complaints." Yoh watched a smile flash across Hao's face so quickly he wondered if he'd only imagined it.

"I think I'll let you live. Watching you squirm is probably more entertaining." Hao replied quietly.

"You're an ass." Tari said, though Yoh could hear amusement in her voice. Hao smirked. She turned back to the Iron Maiden. "Little girl if you don't let me finish my meal in peace, I will find some duct tape and gag you with it."

Lady Jeanne gasped and Marco jumped in to defend her. "You will not speak to her in that manner, Lady Jeanne is holy and you will respect her."

"I will respect her when she learns to respect my privacy and my space." Tari retorted. "I've no patience for arrogance or ignorance, and you've got a healthy dose of both. I would suggest backing off. My temper is only sweet for so long, and while I will not harm her, if you should continue to annoy me I will strike out, as that seems to be the only way to shut you up."

Marco stared at her, completely flabbergasted. Tari pushed away from the table, taking her half-eaten plate of food and stalked over to the back door, apparently choosing to take her meal outside rather than have to stay around the X-Laws. Marco looked angry, Lady Jeanne looked upset, and Lyserg actually looked a little embarrassed.

Yoh shook his head, finished his breakfast and looked over at his parents, who were whispering to one another. They'd been rather secretive for the last few days and Yoh wondered what that was all about. As he headed into the kitchen, two pairs of footsteps trailed after him. He turned and looked at his mother and father.

"Yoh, we need to talk to you..."

%&%&%&%

Hao walked through the cemetery where he knew Yoh liked to star-gaze. He wasn't really going anywhere; he was simply walking around, trying to figure out why Yoh seemed to like this area so much. Okay, so it wasn't it the downtown, but there were still humans, cars, noise and all that disgusted him about modern cities.

He needed to get out of the house for a little bit. He'd made sure Luchist knew to look after Opacho and left. He liked his alone time, when he could think. He couldn't think in that house, not with Anna yelling, Yoh's moronic friends arguing and the X-Laws plotting and glaring at him if he so much as stepped in the same room as them.

Up ahead a tall figure wound its way through the gravestones, nodding a hello to some of the ghosts. Imari and Shigaraki trailed after her. Hao shook his head, faintly amused; it seemed to be his fate that he kept running into her.

"Avoiding the X-Laws?" He called, making her look up. She waited as he walked over.

"Perhaps." Tari agreed. "You?"

"Their mindless squawking does start to grate on the nerves after awhile." Hao admitted. "I must say I am pleased that their attention seems to be temporarily diverted to you. Hopefully that will keep up."

Tari gave him a jaundiced look. "You would wish that." She said. "Asshole."

"I am not." Hao retorted, feeling offended. Tari glanced at him, looking amused.

"The subtleties of human speech seem to escape you." She commented. "It was not serious." She explained at his blank look.

"Ah, I see."

"Not completely, anyways." She amended. Hao wasn't sure if he should take her seriously or not. "So, what's their deal?"

"Yoh never talked about them?" Hao asked. Tari shook her head.

"We tried to talk about happier things, and frankly worrying about you took up most of his worry energy, so he didn't really think about them much I suppose." She explained. "So, what do you have to say about them?"

"They're a cult with power to back their crazy." Hao replied. "They exist to destroy evil, and in their minds that means me. Anyone they meet they try to convert. Often they try to make them see the error of their ways by torturing them."

"Yes, because that is an effective way to make someone genuinely confess." Tari said sarcastically.

"Indeed. If their unfortunate opponents continue to refuse, they are killed as evil-doers as well." Hao went on.

"The old 'if you're not for us, you're against us' theory." Tari intoned. "Also a bit of 'if you don't believe in the same thing we do, you can die'. Makes me think of the crusades and the witch burnings of the Renaissance."

"Agreed." Hao said, somewhat surprised at her intelligent parallels. He supposed he shouldn't have been, but he was still stuck in the rut of thinking all humans were stupid, violent creatures. Still, was Tari even human? "I'm sure they'd think you were some kind of demon if they were to know of your interesting abilities."

"That is why I'll be keeping them to myself, thank you." Tari said firmly. There was a warning to him in her words. Hao snorted in contempt; he wasn't about to tell the X-Laws. It was just as likely they would view her as a tool and attempt to take her for their own. Tari would fight it of course, but he wasn't looking for a brawl in the middle of Yoh's home. "Why are you still here, anyways?" She asked, beginning to walk back to the house.

Hao wondered that himself. He'd gotten somewhat sidetracked from his original goals, hadn't he? Well, he hadn't expected Tari to be so puzzling, so interesting. And trying to convince Yoh to join him now made him feel a little... guilty, after seeing the drawing Tari had done of him. There had been such pain in there. Had he really never seen it in Yoh?

"Do you know what the date is today?" Tari suddenly asked. "I lose track so easily."

"April the 29th, I believe." Hao replied, puzzled. Tari let out a bark of laughter.

"What do you know, I'm nineteen." She said, amused. "Another birthday come without me realizing it." Hao shrugged his shoulders.

"I've never seen a reason to celebrate my birthdays."

"I don't think you've ever had anyone to celebrate with." Tari pointed out. Hao bristled; she was right, but that didn't make him feel any less defensive. "You're too easy to annoy, makes it more fun for me." Tari said. They'd come to the house by this point.

"Tari, is that you?" Keiko's voice asked as they stepped inside.

"Well, it ain't the Easter bunny." Tari called back.

"Come here, we wish to speak to you." Tari padded towards the sound of Keiko's voice. Hao followed, allowing his curiosity to rule him. Keiko, Mikihisa and Yoh were standing in the kitchen, smiling as she walked in.

"Happy birthday, Tari." Yoh said. Hao saw Tari blink and then look surprised. "We have a gift for you, and we hope you'll accept."

Mikihisa held out a sheaf of papers and Tari took them. Hao watched as she read, surprise, confusion and then finally, wonder flitting across her face. "This... this is... you want... you want to adopt me?" She asked in disbelief.

"You're a part of this family, it only makes sense that we formalize it." Mikihisa replied.

"You want me as part of your family?" Tari whispered. Hao could see her eyes were shining. "You really want me?"

"We do." Keiko assured her. Tari looked at the papers again and tears spilled from her eyes, trailing down her cheeks.

"Yes, yes, I will accept." She cried. The three Asakuras crowded around her and hugged her, careful not to touch her skin. Tari stood in the middle of them, crying for joy. Hao turned away, the sight made his own heart ache with loneliness.

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Star: Review plz!


	19. Chapter 19

Star: I own nothing!

"Some birthday, huh?" Yoh asked Tari, who was sitting beside him and smiling slightly. They'd gone out for dinner that night with the family, for her birthday, and both of them were feeling pleasantly full. A cool breeze added to the peaceful perfection of the night.

"The best." Tari answered fervently.

"I'll bet. Nefertari Asakura, can you believe it?" Yoh chuckled. Tari chuckled with him and ruffled his hair.

"No, I'm not sure I can." She replied. "But no matter how hard I pinch myself it still is true, so I must not be dreaming."

"Nope." Yoh responded cheerfully, dangling his legs over the edge of the roof. "It's really happening. You've got a mom, and a dad, and a little brother, two, if you want to count Hao."

"Do we have to?" Tari asked, but her smile told him she was teasing. Yoh chuckled again.

"Well, you're stuck with us now, how does that feel?" He asked.

"It feels good." Tari said. "Always thought I didn't need anyone, that I could make it on my own, and I probably could have, but... coming here it was like finding a piece of myself I'd been missing and I'd discovered that I'd been lonely before. Never realized it because I always was lonely."

"Well, now you won't be lonely." Yoh said practically. "I'm going to go inside now, are you coming?"

"I'm going to stay out for a little longer." Tari said, shaking her head.

"Okay, big sister." That made Tari grin, her teeth a flash of white in the dark. Yoh wandered off and Tari sat there, staring into the dark. It seemed to her that someone like her shouldn't feel this happy, but she did. She felt a little guilty that she still had yet to tell her new family everything about her, but they never seemed to expect it. She would tell them in her own time; she didn't think anything she told them now would prompt them to kick her out.

"Why aren't you inside celebrating with your new family?" Hao's voice asked, contemptuous.

"What the hell's eating you?" Tari demanded, turning hot golden eyes on him. He glared at her angrily. Why must he spoil such a perfect moment.

"Nothing is eating me." Hao hissed in reply. "I just am realizing what fools the clan I started have become to welcome a human into their midst."

"Okay, are you PMSing or something?" Tari demanded. "This afternoon you were quite friendly with me and now you're acting like you'd like to bite my head off. The hell is the matter with you?" Hao went silent, his jaw clenched. "Fine, if you want to act like a brat, I'm out of here."

She brushed by him and their eyes met for an instant. Hidden beneath the anger in Hao's eyes there lay painful longing. Tari continued on, shaking her head slightly. She knew that looked, had seen it in the mirror many times before. That desperate hunger for something you believed you could never have and hated everyone else for having.

She stayed for a couple minutes talking with her new mom and dad, the thought made her shiver in delight, and then headed upstairs to her room. She closed the door, but didn't lock it. She felt safe here, completely safe for the first time in her life. It was a good feeling. She sat down at her little desk and pulled out a fresh piece of paper and a charcoal pencil. She put the pencil to the paper and began to draw.

Sometime later she heard her door slide open. "May I come in?" Yoh's voice asked.

"If the door is unlocked, you're free to enter." Tari replied, not looking up from her drawing. Yoh padded over and sat down beside her, looking at what she was drawing.

"I've seen that too." He said thoughtfully, touching the page. Tari came out of the half-dreaming state she had for drawing and stared critically at the page. It was Hao, a smirk firmly plastered on his face, but his face looked strange, like it was just a mask. There was a chunk that had fallen out of the face-mask and a soulful dark eye stared out, desperately lonely.

"He was very angry speaking to me tonight." Tari informed Yoh. "He hates that you accepted me, but his own family can't accept him."

"I'd accept him." Yoh murmured quietly. "He's so contrary though. He distances himself from people and yet the sight of people who have a family, what he feels he can't have, makes him angry."

"He's afraid, that's why." Tari replied. "I know the feeling. I'm still scared that this is going to prove to be a dream." She admitted.

"Hao's probably afraid of rejection, or being betrayed." Yoh speculated."Probably something happened in his past and now he shies away from any personal relationships."

"Hmm, seems likely." Tari regarded her drawing again and carefully sketched her ankh in the corner. "Perhaps I should slip this under his door?" She asked with a mischievous gleam in her eye. "Let him know he's not as good at hiding himself as he thinks."

"Please don't." Yoh said, shaking his head. "I've a feeling he's going to be acting peculiar enough as it is."

%&%&%&%

Yoh hated when he was right sometimes. Hao had been peculiar, snapping at both Luchist and Opacho and attempting to pick fights with the X-Laws, for the last few days. Tari just flat out ignored him whenever he tried to pick on her, much to his annoyance.

"How could you have let him in here, Yoh?" Lyserg demanded one day.

"It was either let him come, or have him fight his way in." Yoh replied. "Some of us would have died, and I doubt Tari would have survived. It was safer to let him."

"That's the other thing, what's the deal with Tari, anyways?" Lyserg asked. "Why is she so... unfriendly with everyone else but you and your parents?"

"Tari has deep-rooted trust issues, and as her adopted family, she trusts us implicitly." Yoh explained. "Other than that I will not say, it's not my story to tell."

"Adopted?" Lyserg asked.

"Yeah, the papers still have to go through, but Tari is now my older sister." Yoh smiled happily. "Always wanted a sister."

"I hope you can keep her safe with Hao here."Lyserg said worriedly.

"If he was going to do something to her, he'd have done it already." Yoh replied confidently. "Besides, Shigaraki and Imari keep an eye on her."

"Still..." Lyserg said doubtfully.

"Why are you here, Lyserg?" Yoh asked curiously. Lyserg looked down, seemingly uncomfortable.

"When I found out Hao might be alive... Yoh they're my best shot at getting vengeance for my parents death." Lyserg raised pleading eyes at Yoh. "Please don't be mad."

"Why would I be mad?" Yoh asked, shrugging his shoulders. He was a little disappointed. "It's your life, I can't tell you how to live it. Just try not to let your desire for revenge consume you."

"Okay." Lyserg agreed, clearly relieved. "I always forget how easy-going you are." Yoh didn't mention that was because Marco was always so hard on him. "There's something else..."

"What is it?" Yoh coaxed.

"Marco and Lady Jeanne are up to something." Lyserg said in a conspiratorial whisper. "They brought this really old book with them and I think it's got spells in it. They haven't told me anything about it, and they've been talking amongst themselves only since we got here. I think they mean to do something, and I think it might wind up hurting you and the others."

"Why do you think that?" Yoh asked, perplexed.

"Because they won't tell me what they're up to." Lyserg said, looking scared. "I think they believe if I was told I'd try to warn you, because you are still my friend after all."

"Glad to hear it." Yoh gave him a serious look. "So you're telling me I should be on my toes?" Lyserg nodded. "Way ahead of you. I've got Hao and the X-Laws living here, I'm walking on eggshells already."

Lyserg smiled wanly. "I guess you'd have to be." He admitted. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I'll be as careful as I can." Yoh promised. "You keep yourself out of trouble."

"I'll try." Lyserg sighed and padded out of the room. Yoh watched him go, feeling apprehension ripple through him.

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Star: Review plz!


	20. Chapter 20

Star: I own nothing!

Yoh pondered Lyserg's warning for some time after their conversation. The X-Laws were crazy, and didn't think anything of killing innocents to get what they wanted. He wouldn't put it past them to have some incredibly dangerous plan to deal with Hao.

That was a problem, only if Tari didn't wind up killing them first. Marco and the Iron Maiden seemed to have made it their mission to save Tari's soul. Tari was unimpressed and used the opportunities to show off the various curse words she'd picked up while on the streets. So far she'd avoided taking swings at either of them, but watching Tari's mood it was clear to Yoh that she was getting close to her breaking point.

Hao continued to be a 'bit of an ass' to use Tari's words. He had quieted down, but he still shot Tari disgusted looks and snapped at people who tried to talk to him. Between him and the X-Laws Yoh wasn't sure if their house was going to be there in a few weeks.

"Seem a little distracted today, kiddo." Tari commented. Yoh had wandered up and sat down next to Tari while she drew.

"Yeah, I'm worried." Yoh admitted. "Having the X-Laws and Hao here is like putting sodium in water."

"Someone who pays attention to chemistry." Tari observed. "And Hao calls you dull-witted."

"Uh huh." Yoh looked at the page Tari was sketching on. It was him, curled up, arms wrapped around himself, eyes tightly shut. All around him was darkness and frightening faces in the shadows. The darkness was comprised of words, such as Hao, X-Laws, destiny, friends, family. It was a representation of the fears he felt and was overwhelmed by. "How do you do this?" He asked her.

"I watch, I keep my eyes open." Tari replied. "It's not that hard, people just don't poke their heads out of their little shells and pay attention to the world around them."

"That's true." Yoh conceded. "I guess that's why it's sometimes hard to look at, because it speaks the truth, right?"

"Yup." Tari replied. "You're gonna be sixteen soon, how does that feel?"

"It's pretty cool." Yoh said with a lazy grin. "Ryu's been talking about teaching me to ride a motorcycle."

"That's neat." Tari said. "I don't think I'll be able to top your present to me, but I'll try." She said with a faint smile.

"Aw, Tari. You don't have to get me anything." Yoh said, feeling embarrassed.

"What kind of big sister would I be if I didn't?" Tari asked teasingly, ruffling Yoh's hair. "I already got an idea anyways." She cast a look at her closet as she said this. Yoh was curious, but knew better than to ask. If Tari didn't want to say something, no amount of coaxing would get her to open up.

Yoh leaned against her arm, content just to sit there. It was soothing to do so, listening to the classical music Tari had playing and the soft scritch-scratch of her pen. It was in these sort of moments, with no speech, that Yoh felt like everything was alright with the world. Eventually reality would reassert itself, but for now he could cast his worries away.

%&%&%&%

Dinnertime was of course tense again. Despite Tari's best efforts, she still wound up somehow sitting beside the Iron Maiden. It was clear from the look on her face that she was not impressed. Thankfully Yoh was on her other side, so he could distract her somewhat from the X-Laws' ranting.

Of course Marco was going on about how Tari shouldn't ignore Lady Jeanne and how holy and sainted she was. Tari merely gave Yoh a bored, 'shoot-me' look as they babbled on. Yoh shook his head, smiling slightly. It was then that things got weird.

For some reason the Iron Maiden turned while she sat and reached up while still talking at Tari, who wasn't paying attention. Before anyone else could move she cupped Tari's face in her hands. Everything seemed to freeze.

Tari's body went completely rigid, her muscles seizing up. Her eyes went wide and the pupils expanded until blackness took over the entire eye. Her lip curled up in a snarl of pain and for a moment her body... flickered, turning into something that was not human. Then she wrenched her head back and glared malevolently at the Iron Maiden.

"I told you never to touch me." She growled out, voice shaking with barely controlled fury. Her hands were balls into fists that trembled. She looked furious, but freaked out as well.

"Tari?" Yoh asked anxiously, pulling on her jacket. He feared she would try to hit Lady Jeanne, she certainly looked like she wanted to hit something. She turned to him and terror leapt into her eyes for an instant as she stared down at him. She then closed her eyes and inhaled slowly, shuddering slightly. "May I tell them?" He asked quietly. She nodded her head, eyes still closed.

Everyone was still completely silent. Yoh looked around the table, the only one who didn't look at least mildly freaked out was Keiko, and she just looked worried. "The reason Tari doesn't want to be touched and doesn't touch other people is because when she does touch them she sees how they will die." He explained to the frightened X-Laws.

"Well, if you had told us-" Marco managed to stutter out. Tari cut him off.

"I shouldn't have to." She said harshly. "When someone tells you something that they do not like under any circumstances, then you should respect that. Apparently some people never got lessons on that." She glared at Lady Jeanne who, for once, was speechless. "It's not something I like to talk about, for obvious reasons."

"Oh man, I knew about it, but that was scary." Horohoro babbled. "It was like you were having a fit."

"What did you see?" The Iron Maiden asked eagerly, finding her voice again. "A gift like you have, it should be shared."

"It's a curse." Lyserg murmured quietly. Tari turned her gaze on him and he squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. "You can never give someone you love a hug without being completely covered up, because then you'll see how they die and have to carry that knowledge forever. It would hurt." Tari gave him a long, considering look.

"Well, we got ourselves a clever one." Lyserg blushed slightly. "You're right. I shied away from relationships for the longest time for that exact reason. And as for the other question," She gazed at the Iron Maiden again. "I cannot tell anyone what I see."

"What? Why not? You could save lives!" Marco yelped. "Are you so callous-"

"I did not say that I wouldn't, I said I couldn't. My throat closes up if I try. Haven't you ever read the old legends? Those who try to change their fate wind up just facilitating it." Tari huffed. "I'm not allowed to interfere, it's not supposed to happen. It will mess up the balance. I don't know why I know that, but I do."

"There was something else." Ren began. "When she touched you, you sort of...flickered, and there was something else there for an instant."

Tari stared, looking anxious. "What kind of something?" She asked slowly.

"It was hard to tell." Ren shrugged. "But whatever it was, it wasn't human."

"I saw it too." Ryu agreed. There came a chorus of agreements then, as though everyone had been afraid to say something, in case they hadn't really seen it at all. Tari sighed in resignation as they looked at her expectantly.

"I guess I can't pretend I don't know what you're talking about." She muttered. She closed her eyes and for a moment everything was still again. Her body then flickered and changed in an instant. What sat there now looked like a black, anthro jackal with Tari's clothes and Mohawk, all in soft fur. Yoh looked and saw a tail sticking out of her pants. She reminded him of some of the pictures of Anubis he'd seen around.

"Wow." Someone breathed in the silence.

"Anything else we should know about?" Mikihisa joked. "A fairy godmother, perhaps?"

Tari grinned slightly, revealing rows of sharp white teeth in her muzzle. "No, this is the last of my secrets."

"But why did you flicker like that this time?" Keiko asked. "It didn't happen when I touched you."

"Stress." Tari said. "For a moment I couldn't hold onto my human shape. That's all I'll say."

"It explains your fascination with Egyptian mythology." Hao said, giving Tari an interested look. Tari's lip curled up in a sneer.

"So now that you know I'm not one of those icky humans you're willing to talk to me nicely?" She snorted. "You can go fuck yourself."

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Star: Review plz!


	21. Chapter 21

Star: I own nothing!

Midnight and all was well, or it was for most anyways. One lonely soul tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep. Hao finally growled and shoved the covers away, sitting up. Something about this place messed with his regular sleep patterns, he didn't know what it was though.

He sighed and got up, looking around the room. He felt apprehensive for some reason, like there was some dark cloud looming overhead. He didn't like the feeling, and he didn't like not knowing what it meant. He shook his head, bad to get stuck in a rut thinking like that, he'd be jumping at shadows that way.

Still, he was not getting any sleep, so he decided to do what he always did when he could not get to sleep. He went up to the roof to contemplate the stars. There weren't very many that could be seen with the light pollution around, but there were enough to calm his mind at least for a short time.

Of course fate seemed to be against him once again. There was already someone on the roof. Judging by the outline of large, canine ears winking with silver piercings in the moonlight, it was Tari. She seemed to have decided not to hide her true nature, at least for now. One ear flicked back and she turned to look at him. It made sense now why she always seemed to hear him coming.

"Well, you gonna to stand there all night?" She asked. Hao huffed and walked over. She was only wearing a pair of boxers and a tank top as usual, which gave him a chance to have a better look at her real form.

She looked like the drawing he'd found in her sketchbook. She had short black fur all over, digitigrade legs with pink pawpads on feet and black pads on her hands. Her fingernails were black and had were more claw-like. Her slim digits were slightly thicker, but no less dextrous. Her black, moist nose quivered slightly as a slight breeze wafted over them.

"So you're talking civilly to me now?" Hao asked.

"Only if you're willing to do the same." Tari replied, folding her arms. The fur where her scars were was raised a little, showing the symbols still. "Frankly I'd rather be hated by you than have your opinion of me flip-flop because of my species. If you like me, like me because of who I am, otherwise don't bother."

"So what you're saying is that it's not that you don't like me?" Hao asked after a time.

"Personally I think you're frustrating as hell, arrogant and an ass, but you're interesting. I don't like you when you're ragging on Yoh, but you seemed to have stopped with that for the most part unless you're in a snit." Tari paused, scratching an ear. "I wouldn't say I like you, but I respect you when you're not being idiotically biased."

Hao mulled that over. Well she respected him, he didn't know what he would have done if she'd said she liked him, that would have just felt weird. Her not liking him because of his treatment of Yoh made sense, she was fiercely protective of the kid. It was very... doggish of her.

Come to think of it, a lot of her personality quirks made much more sense now that he knew what she really was. The protective loyalty to what she considered family, for one thing. The other was the ingrained habits learned from years of abuse that were extremely difficult to break. Her continued distrust of anyone as well.

"I suppose I can respect that." He said slowly. The words were hard for him to get out. It felt too much like confessing that he was wrong for his comfort.

"Hmph." Tari replied noncommittally. "We'll see about that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hao asked, annoyed.

"It means you use people, and then when they become uninteresting or not useful, you'll drop them." Tari said. "You also do that to people who get on your nerves, or hit a little too close to the truth for your comfort. I have a theory, but I'd rather not get into an argument tonight, so I will not voice it."

"You're being unreasonable." Hao wheedled.

"Drop. It." Tari ordered. "I'm not talking about it and no amount of persuasion or threats will make me change my mind." Hao opened his mouth, and then shut it again. If he tried he would just wind up looking like a fool, because she would not break.

"You seemed really freaked out by whatever you saw when she touched you." He commented instead.

"I cannot say anything about that." Tari said frostily. "I thought I made that perfectly clear."

"Not even hints?" Hao asked, raising an eyebrow. Tari's eyes narrowed.

"You know, I can't help but be suspicious of your motives for wanting to know about how she's going to die." She growled.

"My motive is that you seemed rather unnerved by whatever it was you saw and I am starting to feel like this house is going to soon become the scene of something very bad." Hao explained calmly. "I can't help but feel the two are related somehow." He watched her hackles rise as he spoke. "You feel it too, don't you?"

"I do." Tari replied. "Something's coming, something bad, very bad. I hate not knowing what it is, and I hate the feeling that I'm not going to be able to do anything when it does happen." She bared her fangs in a snarl of frustration.

"How long have you known about... this?" Hao asked, changing the subject as he generally gestured at Tari's body.

"As long as I can remember." Tari replied curtly. "Probably the only useful thing Hotaru taught me was to never show people what I really was, especially adults."

"And yet you've revealed it here, without a whole lot of thought, I might add." Hao pointed out.

"I trust at least three people here, and you're all not exactly run-of-the-mill kind of people, are you?" Tari growled. "You don't have to remind me that I'm a freak of nature."

"Still not over that kind of talk?" Hao asked, having eavesdropped on her conversations with Keiko, Yoh and Mikihisa.

"Still not over your butthurt at the entire human race?" Tari countered with a sneer. "Forgive me for actually having feelings and wanting to be accepted."

"No need to be rude." Hao said, annoyed.

"You were rude first." Tari retorted. "God, we sound like children though, quit it."

"You started-" Tari shook her head sternly at him.

"I actually would like to get to sleep sometime tonight, and I don't sleep if I'm angry or upset, so let's try to be civil, yes?" She suggested.

"Are you sure you can handle that?" Hao asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Can you?" Tari asked in reply.

"Hmph, you're a pain in the ass." Hao said, somewhat admiringly. "You know who I am, what I can do, and yet you bait me like this. I'm not sure to call you brave or stupid."

"If I was stupid I wouldn't stop us from arguing, now would I?" Tari countered. "I just don't see the point in treating you any different than I would treat anyone else. I don't like being treated different, so why would you?"

"I think you and I are a little bit different." Hao pointed out. "The people inside are perfectly justified in hating me, and I am aware of it. Their zealous nature does offend me however."

"Well, I don't have a reason to hate you, maybe dislike you, think you're an ass, but you haven't done anything that directly affects me or my life, so why waste energy in hating you?" Tari stated. "You really hurt one of my family though and I will start to hate you and possibly go on a man-hunt for your head."

"Ouch, violent." Hao said. "You know you've got a very canine-like personality, which makes a lot more sense now."

"I suppose." Tari said noncommittally. "Wish I knew why I was like this though, might help me a little." She stared at her furry hands.

"There's always been tales of the gods fraternizing with humans, and I am aware that gods exist." Hao said. "You may well be a daughter of Anubis."

"Yeah, but here's the thing, why would he go after Hotaru. I mean a god should have standards, right?" Tari's muzzle wrinkled. "Decent guys wouldn't touch her with a seven foot pole."

"Perhaps she was different back then?" Hao suggested with a shrug. "Honestly I don't know why gods would want to fraternize with humans in the first place."

Tari snorted. "Of course not." She muttered.

"Well, other than that they could have been an easy lay." A low warning growl told him he was going too far. Would she bite him ever? He didn't particularly feel like finding out. Tari however just sighed and got up.

"I'm going to bed." She declared. "It was nice talking to you Hao, for once." She strode off. "Oh, and I'd watch your back if I were you."

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Star: Review plz!


	22. Chapter 22

Star: I own nothing and shit is about to get so real, my friends!

The ominous sensation over the house only heightened over the next couple of days. It was like living under the shadow of an enormous thunderhead, and no one was sure when the storm was going to break. Everyone was on edge and even Yoh was less than his normal cheerful self.

Tari had done her best to push the memory of the Iron Maiden's death out of her head, but it was a futile struggle. She'd been having nightmares about it, and dreaded sleeping so much that she avoided it like the plague. Hao, extremely sensitive to the oppressive feeling hanging over him, joined her most nights on the roof. They didn't talk much, which was fine with Tari.

She wandered around most days without her illusion in place. It was kind of fun to be able to and not have to worry about people thinking she was some kind of monster. She was starting to like herself, especially when Yoh called her true form one of the coolest things he'd ever seen, and Keiko and Mikihisa had unanimously declared her to be cute.

"Come on Tari, you need to get out of this room, you've been cooped up all day." Yoh urged, tugging on her arm. "Ren and I are going to spar in the backyard, you can draw out there too."

"Oh fine." Tari said in a falsely grumpy voice. "You'll just keep at me until I do. You're a pain in the neck." Yoh gave her a mock-outraged look and then giggled, ruining the moment. Tari tussled his hair and stood up, taking her sketchpad and pencils with her, clamping one pencil between sharp fangs.

It was a warm afternoon without being too hot, but heat had never much bothered Tari. She was a jackal after all, and therefore adapted to hot climates. She didn't like the winter very much because of this. She wandered over to a tree in the backyard and sat down, stretching out her lanky legs in front of her.

She alternately sketched and watched her brother spar with Ren. After a few minutes Hao, Opacho and Luchist wandered out. Hao instantly decided where she was sitting looked like a good spot for him too and he sat down calmly beside her. She ignored him. He was a lot more polite these days, but she still didn't completely like him.

He leaned over and watched her sketch wordlessly. She was drawing him, surrounded by a transparent brick wall. One hand was on the bricks, spiderweb cracks branching out from it. Outside the wall was Yoh, his hand on the bricks where Hao's was on the other side, cracks branching out from it too. The look on Hao's face in the drawing was of longing and distrusting. The expression on Yoh's was kind and coaxing.

Tari waited for something, anything. "You think you know a lot, don't you?" Hao demanded, though he sounded almost tired.

"I only draw what I see." Tari replied, closing her sketchbook as Opacho crawled over Hao's lap to stare up at her.

"You're a pretty doggie." She said shyly. Tari's lips twitched upwards into a smile.

"I'm a jackal, which is kind of like a dog, but not a pet." Tari explained.

"Okay, you're a pretty jackal." Opacho giggled. Tari chuckled in reply. She liked little kids, even if she didn't know what the hell to do with them.

Most of the occupants of the house had wandered out to watch. It was too nice a day to be cooped up inside. Lyserg looked especially nervous and kept glancing back inside. The Iron Maiden and Marco eventually emerged, carrying a very odd looking book. Tari felt her hackles rise. Alarm bells screamed in her head.

The Iron Maiden began to chant in a strange language, and yet somehow Tari knew what it was. It was Ancient Egyptian, and she could understand every word of it. For a moment she was frozen in stunned horror, but as the Iron Maiden pointed a finger at Hao she leapt into action, grabbing Opacho and leaping to one side, curling her body protectively over the tiny girl.

She felt the air in the vicinity leave for just a couple seconds, making her ears pop painfully. A dull whump sounded and she was lifted off her feet as a rush of air blasted over her. She toppled head-over-paws, her flight stopped by her head cracking on the edge of the porch.

She lifted her head, dazed, and stared at where Hao had been. A gigantic, semi-transparent serpent-like creature that seemed to be composed of oozing tar stood there. Dimly within it she could see Hao's form, immobile and, it seemed, unconscious. Luchist's prone body lay near him, his head at a strange angle to his body, dead.

"What is that?" Yoh whispered as the thing opened blood red, oozing eyes.

"Apep." Tari replied hopelessly. "God of darkness and chaos. The X-Laws screwed up royally this time."

Said X-Laws were staring at the massive creature, frozen in horror. Apep turned its gaze on them and moved, faster than they would have thought possible, given his bulk, and snapped up the Iron Maiden and Marco, swallowing them in quick succession. He grew as he did so, towering over the inn. With a flick of his tail he destroyed at least half of the inn.

'**FOOLISH MORTALS!' **The voice was the most horrible thing any of them had ever heard. Opacho shrieked and covered her ears, crying while Tari held her close. **'I HAVE BEEN RELEASED! TREMBLE IN FEAR WHILE YOUR WORLD IS DESTROYED AROUND YOU.'**

It snapped at Yoh, but he leapt back and slashed at Apep's nose with Harusame. Apep reared back with a roar and lashed out again. This time all those trained to fight attacked, driving him back as a dark shape hurtled out of the sky to join the fight.

Tari couldn't see who the winged being was, but she sensed a strange sort of kinship with them. Apep shrieked as the figure's scythe scored a gash across his head. Inside him Tari could see Hao's mouth open in a silent scream of his own. Apparently he wasn't unconscious after all. Apep swung his tail and strung the flying figure, slamming him into the unbroken part of the house. The figure did not get up.

Apep swung around and slithered out of the backyard, heading in the direction of downtown. Everything in his path was destroyed, or eaten. Every time he ate something, he grew bigger. "We gotta go after him!" Yoh yelled. His friends nodded. "Mom, Tari, Manta, Opacho, you need to stay here. It's not safe for you!"

Tari didn't argue. What the hell good was she against the god of chaos? "Yoh, you could be killed." She said instead. Yoh gave her a grim look.

"I think if we don't get rid of that thing, we're all dead anyways." He told her. He gave her a bruising hug and then one to his mother as well. "I will come back." He said certainly. Tari and Keiko only gave him worried looks. He hugged them both again and then hopped up onto Eliza with the others. All of the shamans winged off towards the destruction being caused by Apep.

'**Little sister.' **A weak voice, kind and soothing, drifted to her. Tari's ears twitched and she looked towards the figure lying in the wreckage of the house. She stepped over to them cautiously and her eyes widened.

"Jackal!" Opacho yelped. The figure looked like Tari, but male and with black feathered wings sprouting from his shoulders. He wore a cloak and a hood that had fallen back. In shaking hands he held a scythe. His eyes were golden all the way through, no whites, no pupils.

'**Do you know what I am?' **The figure asked.

"You're Death, the carrier of souls." Tari answered immediately. "You called me sister?"

'**Yes. You are correct about being the daughter of Anubis, as I am his son. My name was once Ezra, and I came into the power of Death in the second world war.' **He explained. **'The next child born of Anubis' seed always becomes Death, and the previous moves on to the afterlife. It is time for you to take up the mantle of Death, and destroy Apep.'**

"What?" Tari demanded. "But you couldn't do it, why would I be able to? I'm no warrior, I can survive a street fight, but not a battle with a god! I'm an artist for fuck's sake!"

'**You can do it because this is what you were meant to do.' **Ezra replied. **'This is your test. No one else but you.'**

"How?" Tari demanded. "That thing is huge!"

'**It has a weak point. Apep relies on its host to stay in the mortal realm. You must destroy the host.' **Ezra told her. He lifted the scythe a little higher. Tari looked at it uncertainly, knowing if she became Death, she could not be with her family. **'I'd hoped to give you more time to be happy, little sister, but fate was against us both. You wanted to be able to protect your family. If Apep is not stopped, everything will be destroyed. You must choose, your life, or the lives of those you love.' **

Tari's resolve hardened. She locked her jaw and set Opacho on the ground. "Stay with Keiko." She told the little girl. Opacho nodded and ran to Keiko. Tari gave her mother a long, loving look. She then turned back to Ezra and grasped the wood shaft of Death's scythe.

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Star: Cliffy!


	23. Chapter 23

Star: I own nothing!

Yoh attacked Apep again, making him roar and lash from side to side, destroying yet another skyscraper. He ground his teeth in frustration. Apep had gotten downtown and gone on a killing spree. His friends were doing their best to herd people away, but it was difficult when Apep kept attacking them and putting them on the defensive.

"Damn it, how do we stop this thing?" Horohoro growled. "Nothing that we hit it with seems to have much of an effect!"

They took refuge behind a huge chunk of building that had fallen in the street, attempting to catch their breath. "Any plans?" Ren asked Yoh. Yoh shook his head, looking worried. This was something that they had no idea how to defeat.

'**I can help.' **The otherworldly voice that spoke was familiar to Yoh. Everyone turned, finding a massive cloaked and hooded figure standing behind them. Black wings extended from their shoulders, and they held a scythe whose blade was so black it seemed to suck in light.

"Tari?" Yoh asked softly.

'**That's right little brother.' **The figure replied, pulling her hood back. Tari's golden eyes appeared to glow very slightly. She was a lot taller than she had been before as well.

"What...?"

'**I am the child of Anubis.' **Tari explained. **'I am Death Herself, but now is not the time for explanations. I know how to force Apep from the mortal plane.'**

"Why not just kill him?" Horohoro asked.

'**A god cannot be killed completely, demigods like me, yes, but not like Apep. He cannot manifest in the mortal realm without a host however.' **She paused, allowing that to sink in.

"We have to destroy Hao." Yoh said, understanding. Tari's solemn nod filled him with dread.

"Great, but how do we get that close to him without being whacked?" Ren demanded. There was a boom and another building collapsed nearby.

'**You don't, I do.' **Tari replied. **'I need you all to distract him for me so I can get in close.' **She rested a hand on Yoh's shoulder. **'Yoh, I want you to try and get through to Hao, make him fight against Apep's control. Hopefully it will be enough.' **

"And if it's not?" Faust asked. Tari's bleak look answered the question for her.

"Be careful Tari." Yoh pleaded and Tari began to pad off. She grinned at him.

'**This is my turf, I know how to use it to my advantage.' **She replied as she disappeared into an alleyway.

"Well, you heard her, let's do this!" Ren yelled. They all ran from their small cover and attacked Apep with renewed vigour. Faust took Yoh up atop Eliza and brought them as close as they dared to Apep. Yoh could see Hao's limp form inside the god of chaos and thought that Hao must be in a world of agony.

"HAO!" He yelled over the clamour of battle. "I know you can hear me!"

'**FOOLISH MORTAL!'** Apep boomed. **'HE IS MINE NOW, HE WILL NOT ANSWER TO YOU!'**

Yoh ignored this and continued. "I know that this isn't what you want Hao. I know that you never really wanted to create this sort of destruction." Apep laughed evilly.

'**OF COURSE HE DOES. HE WANTS TO WATCH THE WORLD BURN!'**

"No, you're angry, but you're not that destructive." Yoh continued, tears starting to gather in his eyes. "You're hurt and you still want to make that hurt go away. I wish I could have been the one to do that. You're my brother, no matter what, and I wish so much..."

Hao's body within Apep shifted and he opened his eyes to stare up at Yoh, agonized. Yoh watched, heart leaping as Hao began to struggle within Apep, making the dark god confused and distracted. "Come on, Tari." Yoh whispered. As though she heard him a dark, winged shape rose up behind and above Apep. She dived at the god, and brought her scythe down to slice through the tarry body.

Apep's mouth opened in a silent scream and then he exploded, a fierce, black light burning the eyes of all who watched. When it cleared there was no sign of Apep. Yoh was dropped to the ground and he slowly made his way through the wreckage. The city was eerily silent as he searched.

He looked up at the slow clap of wing-beats. Tari landed on the ground in front of him, carrying Hao's soul tenderly in her arms. Yoh ran to them both, legs shaking and nearly buckling beneath him.

"Hao!" He cried. Hao looked small and worn out, but his eyes slowly slid open to gaze up at Yoh. "I'm so sorry." Yoh said, feeling tears slide down his cheeks. "I wish..."

"I know." Hao said quietly. "I wish that too." Yoh let out a tiny sob. "How could this have happened?"

'**It was meant to.' **Tari replied. **'It was the reason I was born, and I am the reason it happened. Everything that's happened to me was leading to this end. Hotaru was chosen because Anubis foresaw this moment, as a possibility among many. I am not the first of my kind, nor will I be the last, but there is only ever one child of Anubis alive in the world.'**

"And you become Death when you die."

'**Yes, until the next child is ready to take on the mantle of Death, and then we go to our rest. It's an interesting way of dealing with things.' **Tari sighed regretfully. **'Though I wish I could have had more time with you and our family.' **

"Then you're leaving?" Yoh asked, though he knew the answer.

'**Yes, little brother.' **

"I'll miss you." Yoh said, his voice quavering. Tari gave him a sad smile.

'**No, you won't.' **She replied.

"What? Of course I will!" Yoh protested.

'**Yoh, the reason why there is no rumours, no tales, no whisperings of those like me is because we do not exist.' **Tari explained. **'When we become Death, we go back in time, and we make certain that we are not born.'**

"How... how does that work?"

'**We exist out of time, existence in the mortal realm isn't necessary. I transcend time, I can be now, I can be in the past, and I can be in the future.' **Tari said.

"But, won't that change things."

'**Some things.' **Tari agreed. **'That's part of the reason people have déjà vu, because someone's reordered time. Sometimes things must be changed in the past to reorder the world back into balance.'**

She gazed down thoughtfully at Hao, claws lightly carding through his hair. Hao closed his eyes as she did so. "Am I still a pain in the ass?" He asked quietly.

'**Yeah, but I kind of like you anyways.' **Tari said with a chuckle. Hao's lips curled up in a slight smile. **'I think I know what needs to be changed.' **She mused. **'Hopefully you both can have a happier life this time.' **

"I wish..."

'**I know, little brother.' **Tari whispered. **'Someday we'll be together again, and then you'll remember me, and all that has happened here. For now... one last hug for your big sister?'**

Yoh sniffled and tottered forward, arms wide. It was a combine hug for Tari and for Hao, and he felt one of Hao's ghostly hands clutching at him gently. Tari was able to move one hand to hug Yoh back as well and wrapped her wings around him; brothers and sister, together for the first and the last time.

Tari broke the embrace first, but used her free hand to lift Yoh's chin to look in his eyes. Tears were falling freely again. She leaned down and kissed his forehead tenderly. "I love you, Tari." Yoh said, his voice cracking. "And I love you too, Hao."

Hao gave him a look of surprise and then smiled happily. Tari leapt into the air, her massive wings beating as she took off.

'**Goodbye, and... I love you.'**

~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~

Star: Review plz!


	24. Chapter 24

Star: I own nothing!

**1985...**

"The only thing we can do is destroy both children just as they are born." Yohmei informed Keiko and Mikihisa. "That's the only way to keep Hao from manifesting this time around." Keiko sagged against her husband, feeling tears rise in her throat as she stroked her gravid belly. Kill her babies? But it was the only way..

A soft whisper in her mind told her it was not, and gave her another way. She straightened, eyes flashing. "No, this isn't the only way." She said. "We can do something else, and it will work better than killing him would ever do."

**May 12, 1985...**

Caught! Trapped! It wasn't supposed to go like this. He'd been expecting them to try and kill him, but have Spirit of Fire take him away. Instead they'd bound his powers, and then his spirit when it had come. He stared up into the fuzzy shapes that were their faces, feeling a thrill of terror wash over him. Were they going to kill him now?

To his surprise he was gently lifted and cleaned, then swaddled in a warm blanket. He was carried and laid down in a crib. An instant later another small body was placed next to his. "What do we want to name the other baby?" A voice said above him as Hao felt himself being snuggled against.

"His name will be Yoh." Came Keiko's voice, exhausted but happy.

**1988...**

Hao carefully turned the thin pages of his book. His fingers were too small, too stubby, clumsy still and he didn't want to rip the pages. Yoh puttered around their playroom, doing his own thing, babbling to himself while playing.

"What doing?" Yoh asked, coming over.

"Reading." Hao replied shortly.

"Oh." Yoh plunked himself down beside his brother. "No pictures." Hao sighed patiently. It was hard for him get mad at Yoh, to his surprise. His younger twin was just so innocent, so happy that it brought down a lot of Hao's defences. Not to mention the fact that Yoh loved his big brother. Getting mad at Yoh was a little like kicking a puppy.

"You use your imagination to see what's going on." Hao explained patiently. Yoh's face lit up.

"Like when I play with my trains!" He said, delighted. He frowned at the pages again. "Can't tell what's going on without pictures though." He complained. Hao huffed and Yoh looked up at him, big puppy-dog eyes begging.

"Alright, I'll teach you how to read."

**1990...**

Keiko sighed and shook her head at her two boys sitting in the office chairs. Yoh looked upset, his little face bruised and eyes swollen from crying. Hao scowled furiously, a shiner colouring his left eye. She sighed again and thanked the principal.

"Come on boys, let's go home." She said. Yoh and Hao hopped down from their chairs and followed her out. "What happened?" Keiko asked as she drove home with them.

"They were picking on Yoh." Hao muttered, arms folded across his chest. That made sense. Hao was extremely protective of his younger brother. "I told them to stop and they grabbed me, so I fought back. Just sorry Yoh got in the middle of it."

"Why were they mean, mommy? I didn't do anything." Yoh's hurt tone made her heart hurt. "They called me a freak."

"They're bad, that's why." Hao snarled. Keiko met his eyes in the mirror, her expression telling him to stop talking. He scowled darkly, but didn't say anything else.

"They're bullies, honey." Keiko explained. "They want to make other people feel bad, make them feel small."

"Why?"

"Many times it's because they feel small, because they're hurting. So, to make themselves feel bigger, they make others feel small." Keiko said gently.

"So they're not really bad, they just are hurt?" Yoh asked. Hao scoffed. "Maybe if I was nice to them..."

"That won't work." Hao cut in.

"I have to agree with Hao, sweetie. They don't feel like they want kindness, they just want to take out their anger on someone." Keiko said gently. "You shouldn't hit them in anger, but I think that you could do with learning some self defence."

"I can teach him." Hao said firmly. Keiko smiled at him.

**1999**

Hao put down the phone and turned to glare at Yohmei. "He's in Tokyo two days and he's already in a fight." He informed the old man. "I should be there with him!"

"He needs to learn how to survive without you holding his hand." Yohmei replied. Hao growled and thought, not for the first time, about setting the old man's hair on fire. His powers had been unbound the year before, at Yoh's insistence.

"You've taught him well, Hao." Keiko said, taking Hao's arm and coaxing him to try and sit down and relaxed. "You've been a wonderful brother."

"Hah! He scared off a potential wife for Yoh." Yohmei reminded her.

"She smacked Yoh, for no good reason, I'm not letting Yoh get married so someone like that, she'll make his life a misery." Hao snapped.

"My point, Hao," Keiko said, bringing Hao's focus back to her. "Is that you have taught Yoh how to be confident, and how to take care of himself. Now, by allowing him off on his own, you are showing him that you believe in him, right?" Hao smiled ruefully.

"I hate it when you make sense."

**Two weeks later...**

Manta was trying to take a nap while Yoh recovered in the hospital from his battle with Ren. He blinked his eyes open at a groan. Yoh was sitting up, rubbing at his chest. Manta was about to speak, but another voice spoke from the doorway.

"Trouble seems to follow you everywhere, doesn't it?" Yoh looked up and his face lit up.

"Big brother!" He yelled, and attempted to lurch out of bed. A figure swept around Manta and pushed Yoh back.

"Lie down." The person, who looked scarily like Yoh, except with long hair, ordered. "You'll pull out your stitches."

"Sorry." Yoh said sheepishly. "Oh, Manta this is Hao, my twin brother. Hao, this is my new friend Manta."

"It's nice to meet you, Yoh hasn't been able to shut up about you." Hao said. He had a fiercer look than Yoh, one that told Manta that he, or anyone else, should mess with him. He seemed friendly enough though. "Now, what to do with you, little brother?"

"I won." Yoh pointed out.

"Obviously. Otherwise you'd be dead." Hao said crisply. "You need training though. Unfortunately for you, our family wanted you to enjoy your childhood and you haven't had any proper coaching. Well, better late than never, I suppose."

"This is going to be painful, isn't it?" Yoh asked meekly.

"Most likely." Hao agreed.

"Well, there are bound to be more people like Ren Tao out there, so... I'm in."

**Night before leaving for America...**

"Hao?" Yoh's voice asked sleepily.

"Yoh, we have to wake up early, what is it?" Hao's voice replied, sounding a little irritated.

"I know... I've just been thinking." There was a small silence. "Do you ever think what might have happened if our family hadn't raised us together."

There was silence for a long moment. "I do, and I can safely say, the possible outcomes make me shudder." Hao replied. "I'm happy here, and now. Now go to sleep."

The twins settled down and the inn was quiet once more. A robed figure stood on the roof above, their muzzle curled up in a small smile. As massive wings beat, lifting them off the ground, a whisper was heard in the night

'**Until we meet again, my brothers.'**

**THE END**


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